Berrien County Drain Commissioner Christopher Quattrin has got his hands full in Bridgman as some major drain work is on the horizon.
Quattrin tells us with the community growing, new measures are being taken to keep land buildable and prevent flooding in neighborhoods.
“There’s a lot of work that’s going to happen because we’re looking at basically the redesign of the entire city system through there right now,” Quattrin said.
Quattrin says there are four drains in Bridgman, the largest of which is the Tanner Creek Drain that ends in Lake Michigan. Engineering is being done for all to prepare for improvements.
Some Berrien County Commissioners have questioned the costs associated with the work, but Quattrin said there’s nothing unusual about them.
“I have in my tenure as drain commissioner have been able to bring all the projects within a budget and built under budget, and we’ve also been able to save a tremendous amount of money on projects, I think to date, where we’ve saved almost $30 million in the drain projects we’ve done. We’ll continue to do that.”
Quattrin says homeowners in the area contacted his office with requests for drainage improvements, and then it met with city officials. He says he hasn’t yet been asked to speak with county commissioners about the projects, although they’ve indicated a desire to hear from him.
