41-7-201. Filing of landowners' petition; contents; amendments; multiple petitions.

(a) Whenever a majority of the freeholders owning lands and the entrymen upon public lands in any district who shall represent one-third the area of lands within said district, or whenever the freeholders owning lands and the entrymen upon public lands who shall represent more than one-half the area of lands within said district, desire to provide for the irrigation of the same; or to improve the existing water supply for said lands; or to purchase, extend, operate or maintain constructed irrigation works; or to cooperate with the United States under the federal reclamation laws heretofore or hereafter enacted, or for the assumption as principal or guarantor of indebtedness to the United States on account of district lands, they may file in the district court of the county which embraces the largest acreage of the district, a petition, hereinafter referred to as the "petition", which shall include:

(i) The name of the proposed irrigation district;

(ii) The necessity of the proposed work describing the necessity;

(iii) The object and purpose of the system proposed to be constructed, together with a general description thereof;

(iv) A general description of the lands proposed to be included in said district. Accompanying said petition shall be a preliminary engineering report on the feasibility of the project, including a report on the sufficiency of its water supply; the approximate area of irrigable land within the district, including an estimate of the cost of construction; all of which shall be approved by the state engineer;

(v) The names of all freeholders owning lands and the entrymen on public lands in said district, when known;

(vi) Whether or not the petitioners desire and propose to cooperate with the United States;

(vii) A general prayer for the organization of the district.

(b) No petition having as many signers as are required by this section shall be declared void, but the court may at any time permit the petition to be amended in form and substance to conform to the facts, if the facts justify the organization of an irrigation district. Several similar petitions for the organization of the same district may be circulated, and when filed, shall together be regarded as one petition having as many signers as there are separate signers on the several petitions filed. All petitions for the organization of said district filed prior to the hearing on said petition shall be considered by the court, the same as if filed with the first petition placed on file, and the signatures thereon contained shall be counted in determining whether sufficient persons have signed said petition.