156-62. Examination of lands and preliminary report.

The board of viewers shall proceed to examine the land described in the petition, and other land if necessary to locate properly such improvement or improvements as are petitioned for, along the route described in the petition, or any other route answering the same purpose if found more practicable or feasible, and may make surveys such as may be necessary to determine the boundaries and elevation of the several parts of the district, and shall make and return to the clerk of the superior court within 30 days, unless the time shall be extended by the court, a written report, which shall set forth:

(1) Whether the proposed drainage is practicable or not.

(2) Whether it will benefit the public health or any public highway or be conducive to the general welfare of the community.

(3) Whether the improvement proposed will benefit the lands sought to be benefited.

(4) Whether or not all the lands that are benefited are included in the proposed drainage district.

(5) Whether or not the district proposed to be formed is to be a reclamation district or an improvement district. A reclamation district is defined to be a district organized principally for reclaiming lands not already under cultivation. An improvement district is defined to be a district organized principally for the improvement of lands then under cultivation. The board of viewers shall further report, if the district is a reclamation district within the above definition, whether or not the proposed drainage would be justified by the additional value for agricultural purposes given to land so drained.

They shall also file with this report a map of the proposed drainage district, showing the location of the ditch or ditches or other improvement to be constructed and the lands that will be affected thereby, and such other information as they may have collected that will tend to show the correctness of their findings.