Rainbow Lake Drain

Located in Montcalm County, Rainbow Lake is part of a three-lake system that did not have an outlet prior to the project.  The other two lakes that are a part of the system are Middle Lake and Sawdust Lake.  The three lakes are separated by roads but there are culverts which connect the lakes hydraulically.

Due to these lakes not having an outlet to drain excess water, they were susceptible to large changes in water surface elevation depending on the groundwater table and precipitation amounts. In 2019 and 2020, when the groundwater table was high and Lake Michigan was approaching its all-time high, Rainbow, Middle, and Sawdust Lakes reached levels that had never been seen before. 

In late 2019, the residents petitioned the Montcalm County Drain Commissioner to establish a new county drain in order to create an outlet for Rainbow Lake.  The residents and the lake association then raised $20,000 to fund a feasibility study to identify a possible solution.

Spicer Group worked with the Drain Commissioner to provide the surveying, establishing a new drainage district, and identifying a few possible solutions. The final design of the new drain consisted of approximately 4,500 feet of 15-inch storm sewer.  Large portions of the pipe are between 20-25 feet deep in the ground.  The pipe conveys water from Rainbow Lake into a cattail swamp which naturally empties into a natural watercourse and wetland complex that eventually drain into Muskellunge Lake in nearby Maple Valley Township.