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Drain Maintenance Program
This statutory limitation severly limits Facilities Management Division's ability to perform adequate maintenance on many of our drains. However, the Drain Code allows for a resident in a drainage district to petition the Wayne County Director of Public Works to provide additional services at a level above the $2,500/mile/year limit. Drain Maintenance Requests A resident with a drain maintenance request should call or write the Henry Ruff Field Office located in Westland, Michigan. Andrew Keller coordinates our Drain Maintenance Section. The telephone number is 734-326-4500. Maintenance requests may be forwarded to Andrew Keller in writing by addressing your correspondence to:
The request will be logged and an inspector will be dispatched to assess the problem. An engineering estimate will be made to determine if the problem can be resolved within Drain Code limitations of $2,500.00 per mile. If so, Andrew Keller will schedule work crews to perform the work. Every request will receive a written reply. Petition Process
The petition requires the signatures of at least five (5) property owners or fifty (50) percent of all property owners residing in the drainage district if there are less than five. The property address, city or township, and property parcel code must be included. The parcel code can be found on the tax bill for that address. Signers must be current in the payment of their property taxes for the previous three (3) years. The petition must state the necessity of the proposed work. A blank petition may be requested from the Henry Ruff Field Office or downloaded from this site. Fill out the petition, collect the necessary number of signatures, have the petition notarized and return it to the Henry Ruff Field Office for processing. Board of Determination After the petition is processed, the Director of Facilities Management Division will impanel a Board of Determination. This Board is composed of three (3) disinterested Wayne County residents who do not live in the Drain District. The Board will meet in a public hearing to take testimony on the necessity for the maintenance project. The Board will also confirm the method of assessment and estimated assessment values for each parcel in the District. All parcel owners in the district will be sent notice of time and location of the public hearing. Speakers will state their support or opposition for the project. If the Board rules in favor of the project, the Director of Facilities Management Division will proceed with design and construction. Design and Construction Facilities Management Division engineering staff will develop a scope of work for the project. Depending on the size and complexity of the project, a consultant engineer might be hired to produce drawings and specifications. A private contractor will be hired by competitive bid under certain conditions. Generally speaking, Facilities Management Division will contract all or portions of the work on:
This policy is predicated on the desire to maintain a lean, efficient and cost-effective maintenance organization. Hiring outside consultants and contractors will add six to nine months to the time required to complete a large maintenance project. If the work is performed by Facilities Management Division staff, the entire project should be completed within 3 months of approval by the Board of Determination. Final Assessment After the work is completed and accepted by the Director of Facilities Management Division, all costs will be tabulated. Property owners in the drainage district will be subject to a special assessment for the cost of the project. Your individual assessment will be based on the method mandated by the Board of Determination. The assessment will appear on your next property tax bill. |
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The Division performs maintenance based on five-year plan. This plan takes into consideration the statutory limit of $2,500 per mile per year for maintenance established by the Drain Code (Public 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.
Should the maintenance work cost greater than the our statutory limit of $2,500 per mile, a City, Township or resident must petition to have the maintenance work performed. Governmental entities must also pass a resolution requesting the work to be done. A copy of the petition can be found at this web site.