Fla. Stat. 298.16
Appointment of district engineer; engineer’s duties

(1)

Within 30 days after organizing, the board of supervisors shall appoint a district engineer, who may be an individual, copartnership, or corporation, and who shall engage such assistants as the board of supervisors may approve. Such district engineer shall faithfully and honestly perform all the duties required of him or her by said supervisors, and deliver to his or her successor all instruments, papers, maps, documents, and other things that may have come into the district engineer’s hands by virtue of his or her employment.

(2)

The district engineer shall have control of the engineering work in said district and may, whenever he or she deems it necessary, confer with the jurisdictional water management district, and he or she may, by and with the consent of the board of supervisors, consult any eminent engineer and obtain his or her opinion and advice concerning the reclamation of lands in said districts. The said engineer shall make all necessary surveys of the lands within the boundary lines of said district, as described in the petition, and of all lands adjacent thereto that will be improved or reclaimed in part or in whole by any system of drainage that may be outlined and adopted.

(3)

The engineer shall make a report in writing to the board of supervisors, with maps and profiles of said surveys, which report shall contain a full and complete water control plan for draining and reclaiming the lands described in the petition, or adjacent thereto, from overflow or damage by water, with the length, width, and depth of such canals, ditches, dikes or levees, or other works that may be necessary, in conjunction with any canals, drains, ditches, dikes, levees or other works heretofore constructed or built by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, or any other person, that may now be in process of construction, or which may be hereafter built by them, that may be necessary or which can be advantageously used in such water control plan; and also, an estimate of the costs of carrying out and completing the water control plan, including the cost of superintending the same and all incidental expenses in connection therewith. Maps and profiles shall also indicate so far as necessary the physical characteristics of the lands, and location of any public roads, railroads and other rights-of-way, roadways and other property or improvements located on such lands. A copy of the report required by this section shall be filed with the jurisdictional water management district.

Source: Section 298.16 — Appointment of district engineer; engineer’s duties, https://www.­flsenate.­gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/0298.­16 (accessed Aug. 7, 2025).

298.001
Districts designated as “water control” districts 298.01
Formation of water control district 298.005
Definitions 298.11
Landowners’ meetings 298.12
Annual election of supervisors 298.13
Supervisor’s oath of office 298.14
Organization of board 298.15
Record of proceedings 298.16
Appointment of district engineer 298.17
Appointment and duties of treasurer of district 298.18
Supervisors to employ attorney for district 298.19
Appointment and duties of superintendent of plant and operations and overseers 298.20
Supervisors to fix compensation for work and employees 298.21
Supervisors may remove officers and employees 298.22
Powers of supervisors 298.23
Supervisors authorized to take land for rights-of-way, etc. 298.24
Bridge construction 298.25
Type of bridges over drains in large counties 298.26
District engineer to make annual reports to supervisors 298.28
Watercourses to be connected with drainage of district 298.36
Lands belonging to state assessed 298.41
Taxes and costs a lien on land against which taxes levied 298.47
Supervisors may issue bonds 298.48
Sale of bonds and disposition of proceeds 298.49
Interest upon matured bonds 298.50
Levy of tax to pay bonds, sinking fund 298.51
Defaults, receivership for district 298.52
Refunding and extending bonds 298.54
Maintenance tax 298.56
Bonds issued secured by lien on lands benefited 298.57
Landowner in district may construct drains across land of intervening landowner 298.59
Supervisors authorized to obtain consent of United States 298.60
Unpaid warrants issued by district to draw interest 298.61
Sureties on bonds 298.62
Lands may be acquired for rights-of-way and other purposes 298.63
Bonds to secure loans from Secretary of Interior 298.66
Obstruction of public drainage canals, etc., prohibited 298.70
Department of Environmental Protection authorized to borrow money 298.71
Department may issue notes 298.72
Department may use proceeds of drainage tax to pay loans 298.73
Matured written obligations receivable in payment of taxes 298.74
Drainage of lakes 298.76
Special or local legislation 298.77
Readjustment of assessments 298.78
Lien 298.225
Water control plan 298.301
District water control plan adoption 298.305
Assessing land for development 298.329
When works insufficient, supervisors have power to make a new or amended plan 298.333
Assessments and costs 298.341
When unpaid assessments delinquent 298.345
Enforcement of non-ad valorem assessments 298.349
Uniform initial acreage assessment for payment of expenses 298.353
Unit development 298.365
Collection of annual installment tax 298.366
Delinquent taxes 298.401
Property appraisers and tax collectors 298.465
District taxes

Current through Fall 2025

§ 298.16. Appointment of district engineer; engineer’s duties's source at flsenate​.gov