Drain Commissioner

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CC1 Eaton County Drain Commissioners Office
1045 Independence Blvd.
Charlotte, MI 48813
(517) 543-3809

 

Braden L. Harrington, Drain Commissioner  

 

The Office of Drain Commissioner is responsible for administration and maintenance associated with a large percent of the public storm drains in Eaton County.  Authority for incurring expense and for constructing new drains is derived from Public Act 40, 1956, as amended, commonly known as the Michigan Drain Code.  The drain commissioner currently administers and holds easements over 1,900 miles of open and enclosed drains, spread throughout the county.  Many were constructed in the latter half of the 19th century and, through continued maintenance, serve as important components of the county’s infrastructure today..

Other agencies responsible for public drainage in Eaton County include city and village governments within their respective jurisdictions, the Michigan Department of Transportation (drainage along and occasionally outside of state trunk line rights of way), and the Eaton County Road Commission (typically shallow roadside drainage).

The focus of the drain commissioner’s office is threefold:  to provide adequate drainage for protection of property; to implement and manage flood control measures, and to afford protection against contamination of the surface waters of the county.  To this end, the drain commissioner offers opportunities for public education, owns and constructs surface water detention and retention facilities, and engages in effective erosion control measures while conducting work in stream bank environments.

The Eaton County Drain Commissioner also administers the Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Ordinance on behalf of the Board of Commissioners as well as two lake levels. 

In Eaton County, the drain commissioner does not currently administer any public wastewater treatment facilities.  Nor is the commissioner responsible for correcting problems associated with private on-site waste treatment systems.  Question concerning the latter should be directed to the Barry-Eaton Health Department.

 

Staff

 
Brady Harrington, Drain Commissioner

Dick Brown, Deputy Drain Commissioner

Dave Wilcox, Chief of Engineering and Inspection

Kevin Kalmbach, Soil Erosion Engineer

Deb Jager, Administrative Assistant