<P> Water project law is the branch of state and federal law that deals with the construction, management, financing, and repair of major water projects, including public drainage, irrigation, flood control, navigation and other projects . Some of these projects are constructed and managed by state and local government . But many are constructed and managed by special local improvement districts, which are special political subdivisions of state government . </P> <P> Water project law has had, and continues to have, a significant role in the management of important water resources . For example, agricultural drainage, much of which is now responsible for maintaining a significant infrastructure, results largely from these local districts or other entities . Drainage in the United States occurred in two primary developmental periods, during 1870 - 1920 and during 1945 - 1960 . By 1920, more than 53 million acres (210,000 km) out of a total of 956 million acres (3,870,000 km) of US farmland had received some form of drainage . The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1982 Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) inventory identified about 107 million acres (430,000 km) of wet soils as being prime or adequately drained, of which 72 percent was then cropland . (Economic Research Service, 1987 .) Often, state projects are constructed under the mantle of local water project authorities, using special federal funds appropriated for these purposes . Often the local entity must agree in return for the original federal funds to maintain the project indefinitely with local funds, derived either from taxes or special assessments . </P> <P> Although there are unique state law features to water project instrumentalities, there are many features in common . Many of these districts are special improvement districts endowed by state law with the ability to collect revenues from lands that are benefited by the improvement . Often these assessments are in the form of special assessments which are proportional to the increase in value afforded the benefited land by the project . Or, the local improvement district may be afforded the power to levy special taxes, or to levy charges in return for the privilege of receiving the use and benefit of the project . </P> <P> Some districts are governed by a board of elected officials . Voting rights may be based upon population within the district or in some cases based on the ownership of benefited lands . In some states, some districts are governed by existing local government entities, such as county government, but under special statutory authority . Statutes governing these districts govern the authority to levy assessments, charges, or taxes . They determine the obligation of the authority to maintain . In some cases, establishment of the project, or the district, affords benefited landowners statutory rights to insist on continued maintenance of the project if statutory criteria are met . For example, a certain number of landowners might be required to petition, and make a showing that the conditions for maintenance have been met . The statutes typically provide a method of seeking judicial review of the decisions made by the district in question . </P>

How are surface water and groundwater resources controlled in the us