By David Fleet
Editor
Goodrich-In December, following more than six years of deliberation, upgrades of the village Wheelock & Watkins Drain began and is currently 75 percent complete, according to Sue Hogan, senior engineer of the of surface water management for the Genesee County Drain Office.
“Construction crews have been working diligently and are maintaining an aggressive completion schedule, despite dealing with higher than normal ground saturation for winter months,” said Hogan. “Weather permitting, construction in its entirety is projected to be completed this month. Restoration will continue over the course of the spring, as temperatures becomes more conducive.”
The planned work on the agricultural drain built in 1897 encompasses about 139 homes within the village. The old drain, under the jurisdiction of Genesee County, has been one possible cause of flooding of several residents’ homes over the past few years.

About seven years ago, the flooding intensified, prompting village officials to engage the county drain officials to investigate the issues.
As a result, petitions were signed and in a special meeting on April 9, 2013 at the village offices, a board of determination voted 3-0 to move forward with an upgrade to the Wheelock & Watkins Drain. At the time of the determination of necessity for the drain upgrades, supervisors from Mundy, Aregentine and Richfield townships chaired a public hearing and said the project should move forward. The petitioned that prompted the public hearing included many signatures from village residents and council members at the time.
“They can do about 100 foot of tile per day—some of the work will be the interconnection with old existing pipe,” said Hogan. “We’ll also have an inspector on site to oversee the project.”
The construction contract of $548,106 came in below estimates, said Hogan. The total cost is about $775,000 and includes a 12 percent contingency of about $86,000 plus engineering costs.
Genesee County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright expressed his thanks to all residents for their patience and understanding as the much needed Wheelock and Watkins Drain construction continues.
“Our office looks forward to neighboring residents benefiting greatly from the increased drainage resulting from the project’s completion,” Wright said.
If any resident has a question or concern they should contact the Genesee County Drain Commissioner’s Office, Surface Water Management Division at (810) 732-1590.