Towar Gardens and Branches Drain and Towar Snell Drain
Towar Gardens is one of the oldest urbanized areas in Meridian Township, Ingham County. It is an area of low-lying, agricultural land made productive by a network of canals (now the Remy Chandler Intercounty Drain) dug in the mid 1800s to early 1900s to drain the 7,000-acre Chandler Marsh to the Looking Glass River.
Over the years, this 200-acre area was populated with over 400 homes and multifamily developments. However, inadequate agricultural drainage systems resulted in a long history of widespread flooding, even after minor storms. Roads were in poor repair due to saturated bases, sump pumps ran constantly, and the lack of proper outlets led to illegal connections and sewage backups.
Practical, cost-effective drainage solutions had always been lacking due to the high cost to retrofit this established neighborhood with its many site challenges, including flat, low-lying, topography, high-water table, poorly-drained, soils, shallow intercounty drain outlet elevations, lack of land for detention facilities without removing affordable housing, multiple utility conflicts, permitting require requirements, and the disruption that construction would cause to the lives of hundreds of residents.
In 2003, concerns over sanitary sewer capacity lead Meridian Township to petition Ingham County Drain Commissioner Pat Lindemann for a drainage solution.
Drain Commissioner Lindemann and his project team selected a low-impact design solution: bioretention, or rain gardens. The plan included creating the Towar Snell drain and consolidating five existing drains into the Towar Gardens and Branches Drain. This solution, while enormously complex, addressed all existing challenges—and remarkably at a lower cost than traditional design. As constructed, the Towar Rain Garden Drains are the largest retrofit stormwater management systems based on low-impact design constructed under the Drain Code, and are among the largest of their type constructed anywhere.
Incredibly, Towar Rain Garden Drains include 8.25 miles of drain and 150 rain gardens, covering 5 1/2 acres. Construction was a massive undertaking; every road in the neighborhood was torn up and nearly every property was impacted by the construction of a rain garden, a ditch and/or pipe and sump leads.
In its first year, the Towar Rain Garden Drains have been put to the test with one 24-hour, 50-year event, three 2-hour, 10-year events, and one 1-hour, 25-year event. As designed there was no standing water in the rain gardens, the roadside ditches, or the previously flooded yards and roads.
The design and construction of Towar Rain Garden Drains would not have been possible without public support. Drain Commissioner Pat Lindemann and his project team would like to thank the Towar Gardens residents for their continued support and understanding, making this innovative project a continuing success for everyone.
Awards Received
Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners
Innovation and Excellence Award
Towar Gardens Drain Project, East Lansing and Meridian Township, Ingham County, 2008