Hemlock Tile Drain

Spicer Group conducted a detailed study on the Hemlock Tile Drain, located in Hemlock, Michigan for the Saginaw County Public Works Commissioner. The intent of the study was to identify the sources causing the flooding that Hemlock had been experiencing for several decades during heavy storm and runoff events. The study included SSA modeling of the entire town, evaluation of existing storm infrastructure with salvage value, conducting surveys of the local residents to identify flooding extents, and the study concluded with a public informational meeting. The SSA model of the proposed storm sewer system was created and subsequently used to size the updated system including required detention. With adequate public support for a project, Spicer Group was authorized to move forward with the design of a community-wide drainage system to address the problems identified in the study. Spicer Group concluded that the best solution was to construct an entirely new storm sewer system consisting of over 30,000 feet of storm sewer ranging in size 12 to 48 inches and constructing a large storm water detention basins on county-donated land. Construction began in Spring 2018 and is currently 99 percent complete. The design was complex and included consolidating several drains, increasing the watershed from 148 to 354 acres, lowering of water mains and repaving many of Hemlock’s streets. Engineers also had to coordinate the project with a concurrently occurring drainage improvement project being completed by MDOT on M-46.