County Drains

A county drain may be an open ditch, stream or underground pipe, retention pond or swale that conveys stormwater. These drains become designated as county drains through a petition process where either property owners or a local city, village or township petitions the Drain Commissioner to establish a county drain.

The Office of Drain Commissioner is an elected position in every Michigan county except Wayne. The Facilities Management Division (FMD) is responsible for the maintenance and operation of 617 established drainage districts extending over 1,500 miles, and all ancillary facilities leading to the drains. FMD is responsible for the accounting of expenditures and financial statements, maintaining records of the establishment and operation of each drain, and for conducting routine maintenance of the drains. Major drain projects (generally defined as those with costs in excess of $2500 per mile) are initiated by the public or municipality(s) through a petition process. Wayne County's drain portfolio includes:

• 111 Chapter 20 municipal drains
• 23 Chapter 21 intercounty drain
• 483 Chapter 4 and 8 drains established under Public Act 40 of 1956
• FMD administers the Chapter 4 and 8 drains and participates on the Drainage Board of the Chapter 20 and 21 drains.

The Division performs maintenance on these drains using a three-year plan. This plan takes into consideration the statutory limit of $2,500 per mile per year for maintenance established by the Drain Code (Pulic Act of 1956). For example, if a drain is two miles long, the division is limited in spending $5,000 in maintenance in any year.

This statutory limitation severly limits FMD's ability to perform adequate yearly maintanance on many of Wayne County's drains. However, the Drain Code allows for a resident in a drainage district to petition the Wayne County Drain Commissioner to provide additional services at a level above the $2,500 per mile per year statutory limit. For more information on initiating a petition, or for the status of an existing petition, please contact Clarence Smiley at (734) 326-7666, or email Clarence Smiley at .

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