County Drains
A Wayne County Drain that is under the jurisdiction of the Wayne County Drain Commissioner
is a drain that has been legally established as mandated in the Michigan Drain Code
of 1956. These drains can be open ditches, streams or underground pipes, or swales
that convey stormwater. Established Wayne County Drains become designated as county
drains through a petition process where property owners or a local city, village
or township petitions the Drain Commissioner to establish a county drain.
The Wayne Drain Commissioner is an appointed position by the Wayne County Chief
Executive Officer unlike most counties in the state who have elected Drain Commissioners.
The Wayne Drain Commissioners office is responsible for the maintenance and operation
of established Wayne County drains and all ancillary facilities leading to the drains.
FMD Administrative office and Field Office 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 $5000 per
mile per year) 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 Facilities Management Division Field Operations Office performs planned maintenance
and responds to service requests on drains throughout the year. This planned maintenance
and service requests takes into consideration the statutory limit of $5,000 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 $10,000 in maintenance in
any year. This statutory limitation severely limits FMD's ability to perform adequate
yearly maintenance on many of Wayne County's drains. In many cases the drains are
in need of improvement beyond the routine maintenance.
Petitioning for Improvement to a County Drain
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 $5,000 per mile per year statutory limit.
For detailed information, click on the respective links listed below.
Request for Service
The Facilities Management Division Field Operations Office is where to call
at (734) 326-4500 if your drain needs maintenance. If there is debris in the flow
line of the of the drain that is obstructing the flow of water please give us a
call and initiate a Service Request by providing us with the following information
and we may help to address your drain maintenance needs:
- Name
- Phone Number
- Address (where the work site is located)
- City and Zip Code
- Closest Cross Streets
- Nature of problem and any other information that will help to describe the problem
Initiate Request for Service Online
Our business hours are Monday thru Friday 7:30am until 4:00pm. We can be reached
at (734) 326-4500. If you reach the voicemail please leave a message with the same
information as shown above. We strive to respond within 24 hours either in person
or with a follow up call. In the event that an issue is not our jurisdiction we
will refer you to the appropriate department or agency that can assist you with
your situation.
Department Organizations...
Kerreen Conley 
Division Director, Deputy Drain Commissioner
Phone : (313) 224-7679
Firooz Fath-Azam
Downriver Wastewater Treatment Plant
Phone : (734) 285-5246
Andrew Keller
County Drain Maintenance & Records
Phone : (734) 326-4500
Ancell Noel
Pump Station, CSO Basin and County
Sanitary Sewer Interceptor Maintenance
Phone : (734) 285-9355
Sabu Varghese
Industrial Pre-Treatment Program
Phone : (734) 285-7232
24 Hour Environmental Hotline
Ph: 888-223-2363