Water Resources Commissioner

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Address	Calhoun County Building 315 West Green Street Marshall, MI 49068
Phone	(269) 781-0790
Fax	(269) 781-0647
*Hours*	8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday
*Elected Official*	Christine Kosmowski, Water Resources Commissioner
*Appointed Official*	Sherry Trader, Deputy Water Resources Commissioner
Staff	Richard Walsh, Drain Inspector/Coordinator Brittney Wiseman, Assessment Assistant

The Water Resources Commissioner is a statutory officer elected on a partisan basis every four years. The Water Resources Commissioner is responsible for the administration of the Drain Code of 1956, as amended. The duties of the Water Resources Commissioner include the construction and maintenance of drains, determining drainage districts, apportioning costs of drains among property owners, and receiving bids and awarding contracts for drain construction. The Water Resources Commissioner also approves drainage in new developments, subdivisions and maintains lake levels.

Duties

County Drains

The County Water Resources Commissioner and staff are responsible for the establishment, construction and maintenance of approximately 500 storm water management systems (County Drains) in Calhoun County. These systems are designed to provide storm water management, drainage, flood prevention and stream protection for urban and agricultural lands. The Water Resources Commissioner also develops standards and specifications for management of storm water runoff in new developments and protecting receiving waters.

The Water Resources Commissioner is responsible for compiling all accounting records of financial activities for county drains and for preparation and maintaining records of the establishment and operation of all county drains.

Major drain projects are initiated through a petition process. The Water Resources Commissioner may in any one year, without petition, expend up to $5,000.00 per mile, per drain for maintenance and repair. To recover costs, special drain assessments are levied against property owners, local governments, county roads, railroads and state highways benefited by the construction and/or maintenance. If at any time the drain fund of a drainage district contains less than $5,000 per mile of drain the Water Resources Commissioner can assess up to $2,500 per mile of drain for future drain maintenance costs.

The Water Resources Commissioner is responsible for review and approval of storm water management systems in platted developments under the Michigan Land Division Public Act 591 of 1996 and for private development in response to local government ordinance requirements. The Water Resources Commissioner has the authority to ensure that established drains and natural water courses, both inside and outside of the plat, be improved or protected to the standards and specifications established by the Water Resources Commissioner.

The Water Resources Commissioner serves on a statutory drainage board to oversee the management of drains established under Chapter 6 and maintained under Chapter 21 of the Michigan Drain Code. This intercounty drainage board consists of the Water Resources Commissioner of each county involved and Department of Agriculture representative who acts as chairperson of the intercounty drainage board.

Court Ordered Lake Levels

In addition to the approximately 750 miles of open and enclosed county drains this office oversees, we are also responsible for the operation and maintenance of nine lake level control facilities located within the county. These facilities include a simple construction of an outlet pipe to the complex construction of a diversion dam and dual wells to maintain lake levels on these lakes. The Water Resources Commissioner and Drain Inspector regularly check lake levels, turn well(s) on and off and ensure that inlets and outlets are flowing properly when needed.