Owners of land may drain the same in the general course of natural drainage by constructing an open ditch or tile drain, discharging the water therefrom into any natural watercourse or into any natural depression or draw, whereby such water may be carried into some natural watercourse; and when such drain or ditch is wholly on the owner's land, he shall not be liable in damages therefor to any person or corporation.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 31-201
Drainage by landowner; to what extent allowed
Applied in 8 court decisions — leading case Johnson v. NM Farms Bartlett, Inc. (1987)
Most recently applied in 1 Neb. Ct. App. 25 - Hickman v. Hunkins (April 1992)
Laws 1911, c. 142, § 1, p. 466; R.S.1913, § 1771; C.S.1922, § 1718; C.S.1929, § 31-301; R.S.1943, § 31-201.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Nebraska Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Nebraska statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.