Posted on October 28, 2021
JACKSON COUNTY, MI – There’s $1 million coming from the state’s 2022 budget to help Jackson County dredge the lagoons at Cascades Falls Park.
But, county officials say that won’t cover the full cost of the project.
The rest of the money would have to come from county funds, such as the general fund or the parks fund, County Administrator Mike Overton said.
County officials have talked about dredging in the past, but high estimated costs have prevented them from doing it, Overton said. Estimates from 2006 put those costs around $2 million, County Parks Director Kyle Lewis said.
However, since that estimate is 15 years old, the cost is most likely “way more” today, Overton said, although officials couldn’t provide an exact figure.
Jackson County officials have been studying the waterflow around lagoons to address concerns of high-water levels and flooding at nearby homes. Dredging the lagoons around the Cascades Falls would clean them up and get rid of silt and sediment buildup, and hopefully increase the water flow to lower the levels.
The county currently has no formal plans in place to dredge the lagoons, Overton said. However, he said officials plan to start working on documents to apply for permits through the Michigan Environment Great Lakes and Energy department for bids as they wait for the state funding to come in.
“I know what (state officials) tell me, and they tell me they put it in and we’re going to get the money,” Overton said. “Based on my good faith and what they tell me, I’m going to go ahead and start preparing for that.”
Meanwhile, residents living near Cascade Falls Park and the Cascades Falls have been dealing with wet basement issues since 2003, which they believe are caused by the falls’ man-made features and the lagoons. These residents, who live near West Avenue, Douglas Street and Randolph Street, have been asking the county for an adequate drainage system in the lagoons, as well as cleaning them up.
Elaine Wolf-Baker, a long-time resident in that area, previously said she has spent $15,000 to $20,000 on water bypass systems and sump pumps with mixed success. She is hopeful the dredging would lower the ground water and stop the flooding in the neighborhood’s basements.
Wolf-Baker is happy to hear of the state funding.
“I’m very relieved,” she said. “I hope the county can do the dredging. This park is the most heavily used park in Jackson County. Everybody will be happy.”
While residents hope dredging will help with flooded basements, residents still hope the county keeps up with proper drainage in the park to prevent flooding problems in the future, Wolf-Baker said.
Early results of the study at the park have shown man-made features may not be the culprit of residential flooding issues, but it remains a mystery as to why groundwater levels are still high near residences afflicted by flooding.
“It will be interesting. We’ll dredge this out and see if it changes the groundwater,” Overton said.
