Section 257.040 - Petition for organization, number of signers, contents - consolidation of petitions1. To initiate proceedings for establishing a river basin conservancy district, a petition shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the court, the petitioners to be residents, and may be public corporations, of a county which is within or partly within the river basin generally described and proposed to be organized into a district, their signatures to be required as follows: (1) In the case of a district proposed for a river basin lying within or partly within more than two counties, the petition shall be signed by one hundred or more petitioners in each of a majority of such counties;(2) In the case of a district proposed for a river basin lying within or partly within two counties, the petition shall be signed by fifty or more petitioners in each county;(3) In the case of a district proposed for a river basin lying wholly within one county the petition shall be signed by twenty-five or more petitioners in such county.2. In the case of a public corporation as a petitioner, the petition shall be signed by the appropriate person or persons after due and proper action by the governing body of such public corporation.3. The petition shall set forth:(1) The name of the proposed district, the first word of the title being the name of the river followed by the words "Conservancy District"; or, in the event of the proposed district being a river basin constituting an unnamed area as described in this chapter, the name of the river to be used shall be the name of the principal stream or one of the principal streams within the proposed district;(2) That the creation of a district for the area described will be conducive to the public health, safety, convenience or general welfare, or for public use or benefit; and may set forth any other pertinent purpose and condition as conform to the provisions of this chapter;(3) A general description of the territory to be included in the proposed district, which territory shall be a primary drainage basin, a secondary drainage basin, a tributary drainage area, or an unnamed drainage area, as defined in this chapter;(4) That the owners of real estate and other property whose names are subscribed to the petition are willing to and do obligate themselves, in the manner hereinafter provided for, to pay the expense of the proceedings, whether the proposed district is organized or the proceedings dismissed;(5) A prayer for an order by the court declaring the petition and its purpose to be worthy and valid, and further ordering a referendum as such is provided for in this chapter.4. Several similar petitions or duplicate copies of the same petition for the organization of the same district may be filed and shall together be regarded as one petition. All petitions filed prior to the hearing on the petition shall be considered by the court the same as though filed with the first petition placed on file. The court may at any time permit the petition to be amended in form and substance to conform to the facts. In determining when a requisite number of freeholders have signed the petition, the court shall be governed by the names as they appear upon the tax records, which shall be prima facie evidence of ownership.L. 1959 S.B. 199 § 4, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1070