Drain Notices
Petition Projects/Apportionment Review
In Michigan, a petition project refers to a formal request from municipalities or a group of landowners to clean, widen, deepen, straighten, extend, or relocate an existing county drain. Petitions may also aim to construct new drains, improve existing systems, or address flooding and drainage concerns.
Drain Maintenance
A drain maintenance project in Michigan involves work required to keep a drain in good condition to prevent flooding, reduce soil erosion, and improve drainage. This may include removing debris and log jams from open watercourses, excavating sediment from channels, making minor repairs to storm sewer systems, and addressing erosion issues.
Intercounty Drains
An intercounty drain is a drainage system that spans across county lines, managed by an intercounty drainage board. This board consists of representatives from each county’s drain commission department and MDARD.
Drain Maintenance
The Water Resources Commissioner and staff are responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of more than 800 storm water management systems—referred to as “County Drains”—throughout Ottawa County. These systems are designed to manage storm water, provide drainage, prevent flooding, and protect streams across both urban and agricultural areas.
A County Drain may take the form of an open ditch, stream, underground pipe, retention pond, or swale that conveys storm water. When well-maintained, these drains do more than move water—they help prevent flooding, protect water quality, and preserve natural waterways. They also reduce standing water that can attract pests, support productive farmland, and safeguard nearby roads and bridges.
Use the sliders below to see the difference routine maintenance makes!
No.4 & 43 Drain After
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No. 34 Drain
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Project Funding
Routine maintenance of County Drains is necessary from time to time to ensure their proper function. The Water Resources Commissioner may in any one year, expend up to $10,000.00 per mile, per drain for maintenance and repair. Major projects are initiated through a petition process. Either property owners or a local municipality can petition the Water Resources Commissioner. To recover costs expended for a project, Special Assessments are levied against private properties, local municipalities, the County and the County Road Commission, railroads and state highways benefited by the construction and/or maintenance.