What does the Elkhart County Surveyor do?
General FAQs    Section Corner FAQs    General Drainage FAQs    Drainage Board FAQs

The Elkhart County Surveyor, like all Indiana County Surveyors, has three main responsibilities to the public: keep a detailed record of all legal surveys performed in the county, to maintain county section corners, and to plan projects for and advise the county Drainage Board.

The Elkhart County Surveyor does not perform private property surveys.  Please consult the Yellow Pages to find a private surveyor if you need a property survey.

General FAQs
(Frequently Asked Questions)

There is a sign in my yard, which reads “Do Not Disturb nearby Survey Marker” Why is this survey point important, and what happens if I move it?

This sign could identify one of two different markers.  The first is a County Marker, usually a rebar (a long, cylindrical metal stake) encased in concrete, which is usually used as a reference monument for a nearby Section Corner or other important marker.  If the monument needs to be removed, please contact our office first.  The other object the sign may reference is a point set by the National Geodetic Survey and the United States Geological Survey.  These points are usually green in color (corroded bronze) and provide control data for surveys are regulated by the Federal Government, making the removal or damage of an NGS/USGS point a Federal offense.

Why are there "jogs," or misalignments in the County Roads?
The original surveys were performed not with measuring tape but with 100-link lengths of chain. Each length of chain measured 66 feet, and 80 chains equaled a mile. This also explains why an acre is 10(66’x66’), or 10 square chains, and each section is approximately 640 acres. Corrections were applied to allow for curvature of the earth and variances in direction of north, based on astronomic observations (such as limiting townships to only six miles across, which diminished the factor known as convergence - the angular difference to north between one point and another), yet some of the township surveys still did not quite line up with one another. This is to be expected whenever one attempts to place a rectangular grid, like that of the township system, on the round surface of the earth.  This is why some of the sections along the edges of townships, or closing sections, are smaller or larger in area, and why some of the county roads do not quite line up.  These misalignments between townships are referred to as "township fallings."
 

Section Corners

What are “Section Corners?”
Section Corners are the points that mark out the sections of each township within the county. Elkhart County has 16 townships, 9 of which have a full 36 sections (each a square mile), while the remaining townships have less. Each of these sections is defined by points which were set by the original survey teams that surveyed the county, during its formation, between September 1829 and February 1834.

What is the County Surveyor’s responsibility towards Section Corners?
Since the “Perpetual Corner Records Act of 1965,” the County Surveyor has been required to reference these points (most were originally set with a wood post) and to install new monuments when needed in order to preserve them. Most section corners are found at the intersections and half-mile marks of county roads (as most county roads were designed to follow section lines) and a variety of different monuments have been set to represent the corners since the Perpetual Corner Records Act went into effect.

What is used as a Section Corner monument?
The current standard marker for Section Corners is the Harrison Monument, which can be adjusted vertically to reach the surface after roadwork, saving the county the cost of setting a second monument each time a road is repaved. However, several other objects have been used over the years to mark section corners, including: stones, iron pipes, railroad spikes, nails, and 2”x2” and 2”X3” metal county monuments encased in concrete, among other things.

Why are these points so important?
These points provide a standard from which private surveyors can perform surveys, and by which property corners can be determined. In addition to perpetuating the corners, the County Surveyor is required by law to maintain a Corner Record Book, which describes the location of each of the county corners and provides a standard reference for private surveyors. Many of these records are quickly becoming digitized and some are available on this site.

Drainage

General Drainage Questions

What is a “drain?”
The term “drain” includes creeks, ditches, tiles (underground pipe systems), and other structures intended to move run-off water.

What is a “regulated” drain?
A regulated drain is one which is under the jurisdiction of the County Drainage Board.

I would like to discharge water drainage from my septic or mound system perimeter drain into a nearby ditch or creek. Do I need a permit?
If the drain is a regulated drain, yes.  You can verify whether the drain in question is regulated by visiting our Regulated Drain Map Section.  Anyone wishing to discharge any amount of water into a regulated drain must acquire the proper permit(s): if it is indeed a regulated drain, you will need to fill out a Permission to Enter form (Drainage Form 3) (PDF file), which must be presented to the County Drainage Board and approved or denied.  However, if your discharge tile is less than 8" in diameter, you may fill out a Permission to Enter with a less than 8" tile form (Drainage Form 3A) (PDF file).  Both forms must be properly filled out and submitted to the County Surveyor's Office, but only requests for tiles of a more than 8" diameter must be presented before the drainage board.

I’m planning on building a house or shed near a drain. How far away must my structure be from the drain?
The Drainage Board Right-of-Way for a county regulated drain is 75' from the existing Top of Bank of a creek or ditch or from the existing centerline of a tile (underground pipe system).  However, if you wish to place a structure within the 75' right-of-way, a variance may be obtained from the Drainage Board.  The Drainage Board Variance Procedure describes the method by which one must apply for a variance, and the Variance Table provides the Board-recommended distance from a drain for various structures.  Furthermore, you can download and fill out the Petition for a Variance into a County Regulated Drain Right-of-Way form (Drainage Form 1) (PDF file) and submit it in to the Surveyor's Office for consideration.  Variances are considered on an individual basis, are subject to the decisions of the Drainage Board, and may not be granted due to extenuating circumstances.

Drainage Board

What is the purpose of the Drainage Board?
The Drainage Board analyzes the drains of the county and clears them of flow-inhibiting debris and designs drain projects to increase capacity and efficiency, which reduces the chance of flooding.  As many drains run across more than a single person's property, it was necessary to establish them as commonly held and in turn establish an authority, the Drainage Board, to manage them.  This means the Board has the authority to control access to regulated drains, as well as hire outside contractors to maintain, clean, or reconstruct regulated drains if need be.

What does the Surveyor’s Office have to do with the Drainage Board?
The surveyor’s office provides drainage technicians, employed by the surveyor, to advise the Drainage Board and design drain projects.

Who is on the Drainage Board?
The Elkhart County Commissioners organized the Citizen’s Drainage Board in 1978. Prior to this point, the commissioners themselves acted as the drainage board. Currently, one county commissioner and four appointed citizens of the county serve as voting members of the Drainage Board.

Who performs the drainage work planned out by the Surveyor and Drainage Board?
When a project is finalized, whether it is restructuring a drain, clearing brush from the bank of a drain, or clearing blockage or debris from a drain, it is then open for bidding from private contractors. The winning bidder then performs the work required. A list of current projects open for bid can be found in the What's New? section.