Beechtree Drain
CONNECTING THE PIECES
GRAND HAVEN TOWNSHIP — The Beechtree Drain is located in the northwestern corner of Ottawa County and services a watershed of 590 acres. Originally established in 1884, it grew into a mixture of open drain and enclosed storm sewer as the agriculture land around it was developed into residential, industrial, and commercial land uses.
Located just over a mile from Lake Michigan, the Beechtree Drain begins just south of the Grand Haven Township Hall and conveys water to the Van Doorne Drain, which outlets to the Grand River. In recent years, the area has had high groundwater levels. After storm events, water would pond in low areas within the watershed because of limited infiltration caused by high groundwater. When combined with significant runoff from intense storms, flooding occurred throughout the watershed damaging homes and businesses.
These ponding areas did not have a connection to the drain and could not be conveyed downstream in a timely manner. This resulted in standing water in backyards, along roadways, and on the nearby golf course. Stagnant water sometimes sat for weeks resulting in unsightly algae growth and mosquito breeding areas.
One significant change within the watershed in recent years occurred on a golf course located on the western side of the drain. Originally opened in 1965, the Grand Haven Golf Club closed in 2018, was purchased by the American Dunes Golf Club, and then underwent a major redesign before re-opening in the spring of 2021. This redesign offered the opportunity to add infrastructure to connect golf course ponds to the storm sewer system.
Also, within the Beechtree Drain watershed, three smaller subdivision storm sewer drains were constructed over the years – the Lincoln West Subdivision Drain, the Golfview Subdivision Drain, and the Sanctuary Subdivision Drain. Once constructed, these drains were transferred to the Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner (OCWRC) to maintain, but infrastructure was not put into place at the time of their development to connect the subdivision drains to the watershed’s overall storm water system.
In August of 2019, the OCWRC received a petition from Grand Haven Township to consolidate the drains and alleviate the localized flooding issues. The OCWRC hired Spicer Group to assist with the inspection of the drain, developing a solution, and designing the improvements.
With the history of localized flooding and understanding that no construction work would take place prior to spring rains, the OCWRC and Spicer Group mobilized four temporary diesel pumps to manage excess water throughout the watershed in early 2020. Excess water was pumped slowly downstream to decrease the threat to local homes and businesses and provide additional storm water storage volume within the watershed.
On May 17 and 18 of 2020, Grand Haven Charter Township, like many areas of Michigan, was hit with a 50-to-100-year storm resulting in widespread flooding. The temporary pumps were instrumental in managing the excess storm water that was received and mitigating any flooding and damage. A state of emergency was declared in Ottawa County and with flooding threats not only known, but proven, the OCWRC and Spicer Group expanded the design of the Beechtree Drain improvement project to improve the entire Beechtree Drain, not just the specific area called out within the petition.
“Without expanding this project to include larger improvements to the watershed, Grand Haven Township residents would continue to have flooding issues,” Joe Bush, the Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner, said. “By working with the American Dunes Golf Club and other landowners, we were able to improve the storage volume, and by expanding the project design we can now control the water level in local ponds.”
A manhole structure being installed west of Retreat Drive for storm sewer infrastructure that connects detention ponds to the Beechtree Drain.
Water level control structures were installed as a part of the Beechtree Drain Improvement Project to allow the OCWRC to efficiently control storm water storage and flow along the drain.
The project was expanded into a multi-faceted approach to provide a solution that would alleviate flooding, improve water quality, and be cost-effective for landowners within the drainage district.
The solution included consolidating the three subdivision storm water systems into the Beechtree Drain and connecting them with infrastructure to the drainage system to provide a better outlet for the storm water runoff. It also included open channel drain maintenance that occurred throughout the middle and northern portions of the drain, and storm water storage was increased within the watershed by utilizing ponds on the newly renovated American Dunes Golf Club.
Water level control structures were installed to allow the OCWRC to control the amount of water stored within the watershed and the amount that is released directly to the drain. This infrastructure also allows the golf course to utilize the stored storm water for irrigation purposes.
“Facilitating infiltration is one of the best ways to manage storm water,” Paul Forton, P.E., the Spicer Group Project Manager said. “Infiltration allows for the water to be treated as it moves through the soil, it reduces flooding, and recharges the local aquifer helping to create healthy wetlands and generate baseflow for local streams and rivers. With the amount of impervious infrastructure being constructed every day, simply conveying excess storm water is not always the solution.”
Substantial completion of all the work for this improvement project was finished by the fall of 2021. Spicer Group was responsible for the inspection, design, survey, easement acquisition, bidding assistance, and construction administration and inspection on this project.
“Spicer Group put together a team that worked very well with our partners, residents and my team at the Ottawa County Water Resources Commission. As Commissioner, I am very satisfied with the final product of this project,” Bush said. “The residents have been very happy as flooding and water table issues have decreased and detention and retention in the area has increased. Property owners have some comfort knowing we are here to help.”
“Spicer Group put together a team that worked very well with our partners, residents and my team at the Ottawa County Water Resources Commission. As Commissioner, I am very satisfied with the final product of this project.”
- Joe Bush, the Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner