§1702. Creation upon petition of landowners

Whenever the owners of a majority of contiguous undrained or partially drained lands in any drainage district heretofore organized or in process of organization under any previous or existing law of the state, or the owners of a majority of the lands in contiguous portions of two or more drainage districts, or the owners of a majority of lands in contiguous portions of one or more drainage districts and contiguous lands not in any drainage district, for the purpose of draining and reclaiming the undrained or partially drained marsh, swamp, and overflowed lands in Louisiana that must be leveed and pumped in order to be drained and reclaimed, shall petition the police jury of the parish in which the lands are situated, or in which the majority of the lands are situated, if in more than one parish, to create the lands into a drainage district, the policy jury shall create and form the drainage district. The petition shall be signed by the owners of a majority of the acreage to be included in the district, and shall be accompanied by a certificate of the clerk of court and ex-officio recorder of the parish or parishes in which the land is situated certifying to the ownership of the land to be included in the drainage district together with the acreage of each owner, as appears from the records of his office. If the ownership of any land is unknown, this fact shall also be made to appear by the certificate. The clerks of court and recorders of the parishes shall furnish the certificates.