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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Eaton County Drain Commissioner’s
Office • 517-483-3829
Jennifer Wolfin • Pace & Partners • 517-267-9800
Delta Township’s Carrier Creek Watershed Project Steps
Up Activity This Fall with Volunteer Cleanup and Public Meeting
Residents to hold meeting November 13; Eaton County Drain Commissioner
Brady Harrington and project design team invited as guests
October 24, 2002—Delta Township, MI—More than 20 local
volunteers joined Eaton County Drain Commissioner Brady Harrington
to clean logjams and debris out of Carrier Creek last Saturday, taking
some important initial steps in the Carrier Creek Watershed Management
Project. The Friends of Carrier Creek Association will follow up with
a public meeting to discuss project progress on Wednesday, November
13, at 7 p.m. at the Delta Township Hall. Eaton County Drain Commissioner
Brady Harrington and the project design team will attend the neighborhood
meeting as invited guests.
The cleanup is part of a total rehabilitation project designed to
improve the water quality and natural resources of Carrier Creek,
while providing necessary drainage for the watershed. Restoration
efforts will take place from I-496 north to the Grand River, between
Creyts and Canal roads; a total distance of 3.8 river miles. Currently,
the main challenges facing the creek are sedimentation and erosion,
and fluctuating water levels.
"This is just the beginning," said Lyle Frost II, president
of Friends of Carrier Creek, a volunteer organization of residents
who work with the drain commissioner in planning and executing the
project. "Clearing the logjams allows water to flow within its
natural channel and to continue to carry sediment, which significantly
reduces deposition. It also really helps to reduce erosion."
Frost said volunteer groups will work on the creek again in the spring,
planting shrubs and other vegetation along the water’s edge
to hold the stream bank in place (a prevention technique known as
"livestaking"). He also said trees will be thinned along
parts of the drain to increase sunlight and promote vegetation growth.
Planting this vegetation will help to stabilize streambanks, reduce
erosion, improve stormwater filtration and improve water quality.
Larger-scale plans proposed for the spring include constructing wetland
detention basins near Carrier Creek south of I-496, and bridge improvements
over Carrier Creek on Willow Highway.
For more information about the watershed management plan, call David
Wilcox, project manager at the Drain Commissioner’s office,
at 517-483-3829. To learn more about the November 13 public
meeting, contact Frost at 517-321-2610.
The Carrier Creek Drain Project is a working partnership between the
Eaton County Drain Commissioner, the Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Friends of Carrier
Creek, Delta and Windsor Townships, and the businesses and residents
of the Carrier Creek Watershed.
Funding for development of the Carrier Creek Watershed Management
Plan was provided by the Eaton County Drain Commissioner, from the
drainage district. The physical improvements are being funded by a
$1 million Clean Michigan Initiative Grant (CMI) through the Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality’s Surface Water Quality
Division, the Eaton County Drain Commissioner, and through proposed
assessments. Educational activities for this project are being funded
by a Section 319 (Clean Water Act) Grant and the Eaton County Drain
Commissioner.
Additional contact information:
Lyle W. Frost II • Friends of Carrier Creek Assoc. • Home/Evening:
517-321-2610
Tom Bennett • Wetland and Coastal Resources • 517-327-0970
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