hawkinsjm73
Junior Member
I live in an unincorporated section of Maricopa County, Arizona. My area is made up of low desert, and is subject to periodic intense rain with severe runoff. My property sits adjacent to a recently paved road and has a wash running through it. Before the road was paved, the wash was fairly broad and flat bottomed. It was clear that much of the water was being absorbed into the ground before it gained speed. After the paving, the heavy rains have been cutting deep channels into the ground. The last rain made a cut depth of about a foot. It is making substantial progress in undercutting the road as well.
I would like to retard this erosion, but I am unsure if I am allowed to do anything. The main problem is the area subject to the worst erosion lies in a 40 ft permanent easement granted by a previous owner of the property to the county of Maricopa for roadway purposes. The easement document can be seen here: http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/20031480535.pdf
The description of it is as follows: "The right to enter upon the hereinafter described land and grade, regrade, level, fill, drain, pave, elevate. build, maintain, repair and rebuild including changing the grade, a road or highway, including incidental purposes consistent therewith, together with such bridges, culverts, ramps, and cuts as may be necessary on, over, under, and across the ground encumbrances within the right-of-way..." It goes on the describe the dimensions and location of the easement.
The physical road is nowhere near the 40 ft mark, so there is a pretty large section of land that lies within the easement, but is, as of yet, untouched by the DOT.
I don't expect I will be able to convince, force, pester, sweet-talk, or otherwise cause the county to do anything about the erosion, so I would like to solve it myself. I would like to line a section of the wash with river rock, so that the water can have a chance to absorb into the ground before it can carry away more dirt. I would fully expect the county could, at their whim, bulldoze my rocks away. Would my rights as property owner allow me to carry out such an endeavor on this easement?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I would like to retard this erosion, but I am unsure if I am allowed to do anything. The main problem is the area subject to the worst erosion lies in a 40 ft permanent easement granted by a previous owner of the property to the county of Maricopa for roadway purposes. The easement document can be seen here: http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/20031480535.pdf
The description of it is as follows: "The right to enter upon the hereinafter described land and grade, regrade, level, fill, drain, pave, elevate. build, maintain, repair and rebuild including changing the grade, a road or highway, including incidental purposes consistent therewith, together with such bridges, culverts, ramps, and cuts as may be necessary on, over, under, and across the ground encumbrances within the right-of-way..." It goes on the describe the dimensions and location of the easement.
The physical road is nowhere near the 40 ft mark, so there is a pretty large section of land that lies within the easement, but is, as of yet, untouched by the DOT.
I don't expect I will be able to convince, force, pester, sweet-talk, or otherwise cause the county to do anything about the erosion, so I would like to solve it myself. I would like to line a section of the wash with river rock, so that the water can have a chance to absorb into the ground before it can carry away more dirt. I would fully expect the county could, at their whim, bulldoze my rocks away. Would my rights as property owner allow me to carry out such an endeavor on this easement?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?