Berrien County Drain Commissioner Christopher Quattrin has received an award from the Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners for a recent New Buffalo area project. He went to Kalamazoo last month to pick up the 2019 Innovation and Excellence Award for work that was performed on the Lighthouse Creek Drain. The drain commissioner’s office tells us Lighthouse Creek Drain is a county drain that outlets into Lake Michigan from Water Street, south of downtown in New Buffalo. The project aimed to resolve long-term flooding issues within neighborhoods and at the water treatment plant. The Berrien County Drain Commissioner’s office secured easements and set up the natural watercourse as a county drain, and tells us the end result stabilized the situation. The project’s big challenge was protecting natural resources while solving the flooding problem. Quattrin says “the real thrill was seeing salmon return to the area,” calling it a legacy project.
