OF
PERFORMED BY
LAND DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS, INC
ON BEHALF OF
VAN BUREN COUNTY DRAIN COMMISSIONER

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) INTRODUCTION
2) HISTORY
3) GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
4) WATER QUALITY CONCERNS AND ISSUES
5) CONCLUSIONS
6) SUMMARY
7) EXHIBITS
A.
EXHIBIT A – WEST BRANCH OF PAW PAW RIVER WATERSHED
B. EXHIBIT B – SOILS MAP; DELINIATING ADRIAN AND
HOUGHTON MUCKS

INTRODUCTION
This report presents a brief historical summary of the Gates Drain, known also as the West
Branch of the Paw Paw River, within Van Buren County. Inclusive to this report are the field observations that were made, during the month of January, 2008, pursuant to identifying contamination by major contributory arteries of the Gates Drain, as well as source contamination within the drain itself.
This report was authorized by the Van Buren County Drain Commissioner and executed by Land Development Solutions. The purpose of this report was to summarize historical issues, include geographical and geological characteristics of the watershed, present narrative of field observations and display an exhibit that depicts the present day terminus of the drain. This informational report shall be applied as a reference to future boards of determination that have convened in response to petitions that have been filed within the
West Branch of the Paw Paw River Watershed. Pursuant to that goal, this report has included the legally defined boundaries of the Gates Drain in lieu of a current petition, submitted by the Village of Paw Paw, requesting extension of the Gates Drain from its present day terminus, just South of I-94, North approximately 4,600 feet, to its point of confluence with the East Branch of the Paw Paw River just South of the Red Arrow
Highway, locally known as West Michigan Avenue.

HISTORY
The Gates Drain was established in 1899. It was defined from a point 1,666.5 feet West of the East quarter post of Section 23, Paw Paw Township, South to a point approximately 20 feet North of the West quarter post of Section 14, Decatur Township. Legally defined length of drain equals 31,591.5 feet (5.98 miles).
In 1915, the Gates Drain was extended North from Section 23 in Paw Paw Township,
3,751.5 feet to a point 198 feet South of the South 1/8 th line of Section 14 in Paw Paw
Township. This present day terminus of the Gates Drain is just South of I-94. This extension in 1915 increased the length of the Gates Drain to 35,343 feet (6.69 miles).
In 1945, a petition was presented to the Van Buren County Drain Commissioner requesting the cleaning, widening, deepening and straightening of the Gates Drain. On
May 4 th , 1946, a board of determination met, and after hearing a lot of pros and cons to the proposed work on the drain, they adjourned and ordered a comprehensive survey of the Gates Drain. That survey was conducted by Mr. T.A. Smith, County Surveyor. The
VanBuren County Soil Conservation District requested help from the SCS Services pursuant to assisting Mr. Smith in addressing issues that were presented by the Paw Paw
Conservation Club. Those issues primarily surrounded support of aquatic life within the
Gates Drain.

In the spring of 1947, after completion of the survey, a board of determination approved of the need to clean out the Gates Drain. The Paw Paw Conservation Club, which had actively opposed the clean out of the Gates Drain, held an open public meeting in cooperation with the Soil Conservation District Directors on February 20, 1947 for the purpose of publicly removing their objections to the cleanout of the Gates Drain. This support was conditional on a requirement that the Soil Conservation Service Engineer work in cooperation with the Van Buren County Drain Commissioner and his Engineer.
Opposition to the project continued by land owners whose lands where traversed by the
Gates Drain. These property Owners refused to allow the contractor access to the drain.
This refusal was based on the premise that no right-of-way existed. The States Attorney
General wrote a letter in April of 1948 stating that if the original leases, by their wording, actually give the rights as provided by the statue, the General Drain law, then the Van
Buren County Drain Commissioners has the rights to carry out the proposed improvements. Right of access has never been contested since.
In 1972, 33 land owners filed a petition with the Van Buren County Drain Commissioner requesting the dredging of the Gates Drain. This petition once again ignited the controversy that surrounds this county drain. Approximately 500 acres were being affected annually by poor drainage.
On May 12, 1972, the Courier Leader reported that nearly 300 people were present at the public hearing concerning the Gates Drain. No final determination was made on the matter at that time.
The following year, another petition was filed and the process went forward again. What can be gleaned from the records, is that authorization for design plans for the cleaning out of the Gates Drain was given by the Van Buren County Drain Commissioner. Smith and
Smith, Consulting Engineers of Paw Paw, Michigan, completed a report, based upon field work and inspections, on May 9, 1975.
The following year, a plaintiff’s injunction suit, instituted by the Paw Paw Conservation
Club and the Villages of Paw Paw and Lawton, was prosecuted by Attorney Robert
McWhorter. Plaintiffs argued that the project does not meet the standards of the
Environmental Protection Act and that it would destroy fish and wildlife as well as increase siltation in Paw Paw’s Maple Lake.
Attorney William Drillock, considered a drain law expert, defended the county. He argued that the Gates Drain was first established in 1899 and services 22,000 agricultural acres and its dredging is necessary to alleviate spring flooding. He further pointed out that 20 drains empty into the Gates Drain bringing carp and suckers. He claimed trout and game fish planted in the drain by the Conservation Department were not reproducing.

Judge Hof ruled for the defendant stating that the County Drain Commissioner had failed to officially notify the Village of Paw Paw on the hearing date. The Paw Paw Village limits were extended to include Ampley Road to I-94. Three new parcels within the Gates Drain were added to the Village tax role and therefore Paw Paw Village should have been notified.
Over 30 years later, in the spring of 2007, the Village of Paw Paw petitioned the Van
Buren County Drain Commissioner to extend the Gates Drain from its legally defined terminus south of I-94, north to its point of confluence with the East Branch of the Paw
Paw River.
On June 20 th , 2007, the board of determination convened and heard the evidence as it pertains to the need of extending the Gates Drain. The evidence was over shadowed by a large crowd of residents from the watershed that did not want the Gates Drain to be extended into the Village of Paw Paw. Public opinion carried the day and the board ruled against the need for the extension of the drain.
In accordance with the procedural path established within the Drain Code, the Village of
Paw Paw filed, with the circuit court within 10 days appealing the decision and requesting that a second board of determination be convened.
At this time, the County Drain Commissioner is selecting the second board of determination as directed by the circuit court ruling.

GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
The Gates Drain flows northerly and with its principal tributaries carries surface water runoff and ground water outflow from Northeast Decator Township, Southeast Antwerp
Township, Northwest Porter Township and Southeast Paw Paw Township to Briggs Pond and thence to Maple Lake.
The Gates Drain is the West Branch of the Paw Paw River. Its tributaries are as follows:
1) Three Mile Lake Drain & Extension
2) Detmars Drain
3) Waite Drain
4) Van Blaricom Drain
5) McNeil Drain
6) Galligan Drain
7) Eagle Lake Drain
8) Graham Drain
9) Eagle Lake Drain Extension
10) Clark and McQuire Drain
11) Lindsley and Branch Drain
12) Eagle Lake Drain Howard Robert Extension
13) Lawton Drain
14) Cheeseman Drain
15) Coldbrook Drain
16) Swanson Drain
17) Gates Drain Extension
18) Town Line Drain
19) Power Drain
20) Ives Drain
21) Jackson Drain
22) Jackson & Nola Drain
23) Maxwell Drain
24) Maxwell Branch Drain
25) FiField Drain
The Gates Drain with its tributary drains outlet the surface runoff and groundwater migration for the West Branch Paw Paw River Watershed. This watershed is 37,760 acres
(59 sq.mi.).
This watershed is characterized by shallow topography and poorly drained soils (Adrian and Houghton Mucks).

Land coverage within the watershed: (1)
Agriculture (row & orchard) – 55%
Forested (upland & lowland) – 25%
Open Field – 8%
Urban – 5%
Wetland – 4%
Open Water – 2%
“The Watershed of the Gates Drain is rather sharply divided between glacial hills, with land slopes in excess of 300 feet per mile, and flat marshy bottomlands, with land slopes of less than 20 feet per mile.” (2)
Geologists claim that Lake Dowagiac ran from Grand Rapids to South Bend. The area known as the Decator Flats, West Branch of the Paw Paw River Watershed, was part of the old lake bed of Lake Dowagiac. The Adrian and Houghton Mucks found along the Gates
Drain would be consistant with this theory.
This humus upper horizon of the soil profile along the Gates Drain, with its rich nutrients, is ideal for agricultural uses. This silty black loam has also been the cause of the siltation that has occurred within Briggs pond since the construction of the Briggs dam in 1898.
( See exhibit B for Adrian & Houghton muck areas within the Gates Drain ).
The West Branch of the Paw Paw River Watershed was originally a marsh land tributary to the South Branch of the Paw Paw River. Creation of the Gates Drain gave the Drain
Commissioner the authority to dredge the West Branch of the Paw Paw River to a deeper depth. Better drainage opened up the bottom lands to agricultural development.
With positive drainage created by the Gates Drain and its tributary drains, this land developed as a rich agricultural region. Over a hundred years of growth has occurred but this region still maintains its heritage as an agricultural region.
Growth is necessary for economic stability; however, with this growth, came an increase in the contaminant discharge into the surrounding receiving waters. Cultivation of the silty black loam exposed the fine particles to surface runoff that carried the sediment into the drainage ways of the watershed. Increased urbanization and rural population growth introduced higher levels of nitrates and phosphates into the watershed.
More efficient farming practices coupled with low impact pesticides and fertilizers have helped to decrease the amount of contamination that occurs daily; however, over one hundred years of cause and effect, as it pertains to agricultural practices and land development, has left its mark within the Gates Drain.
(1)
2001 Michigan Department of Natural Resources IFMAP land cover data from the Michigan Center for
Geographic Information (MCGI). West Branch Sub watershed geography created by Southwest
Michigan Planning Commission based on USGS topography maps and HUC 14 Sub watershed data from MCGI .
(2)
Robert McWhorter; M&E/Alstot, March & Guillou, Inc. Evaluation of Proposed Cleanout Gates
Drain – September 1975

WATER QUALITY CONCERNS AND ISSUES
The water quality issue is stream transport within the West Branch of the Paw Paw
River. (WBPPR)
The Village of Paw Paw has petitioned the office of the Van Buren County Drain
Commissioner to extend the Gates Drain (WBPPR) from its present terminus, north, to the point of confluence with the East Branch of the Paw Paw River. The intent of this petition is to place the entire watershed of the WBPPR under the authority of the
Drain Office pursuant to the determination of present day loading for suspended solids and to implement a county drain management plan that reduces this sediment loading.
In a recent SWAT (Soil & Water Assessment Tool) analysis, as part of the Paw Paw
River Watershed planning project, the Gates Drain, Eagle Lake Drain and the Lawton
Drain were identified as areas contributing significant sediment, nutrients and phosphorous to the Paw Paw River Water Shed.
(Below) Eagle Lake Drain - January, 08 (high turbidity)

Suspended solids have always been the primary concern for water quality within the
WBPPR. The Village of Paw Paw recently took steps toward their commitment to water quality by adopting the Van Buren County Drain Commissioner’s Standard for
Storm Water Design Criteria. Implementation of these standards will minimize the direct runoff of impervious surfaces directly into receiving water without treatment.
The repercussions of not addressing this water quality concern to an adequate level have escalated to a point where the Maple Lake is directly being affected. Briggs Pond is full of sediment and the flow channel is transporting the fine silt loam over the
Briggs Dam and into Maple Lake.
The high turbidity (cloudiness of the water) of both the Eagle Drain and Lawton Drain, as observed this past January, decreases the dissolved oxygen levels of the stream which has a direct effect on the stream integrity and subsequent aquatic ecosystem of the watershed.
Exhibit B, as pointed out earlier in this report, defines the boundaries of both the
Adrian and Houghton Mucks. Review of this exhibit brings an understanding of just how much of this bottom land, within this watershed, is comprised of these fine organic soils.
Upland areas have been and are transporting loamy sand down to the bottom areas were the suspended solids settle out with the reduced velocity. The fine muck soils remain in suspension until the velocity of the stream flow is reduced to a very low velocity. That velocity is achieved within the back waters of Briggs Pond.

CONCLUSIONS
1) The stream velocity of the Gates Drain is great enough to transport the silty black loam found within the bottom lands of the watershed.
(Below) A photo of the back water area behind Briggs Pond.
(Below) A photo of the back water area behind Briggs Pond. The water level was dropped to quantify and qualify the sediment deposit behind the Briggs Dam.

Medium to coarse sand are deposited upstream in the eddies and low velocity areas of the stream channels. These upstream sand bars are part of the stream morphology.
2) In accordance with Judge Hof’s ruling in 1976, when the Village of Paw Paw Limits were extended to include Ampley Road to I-94, three new parcels within the Gates
Drain District were added to the Village of Paw Paw tax roles and therefore Paw
Paw Village should have been notified of the Gates Drain hearing.
This ruling states that the property from I-94 to Briggs pond is part of the Gates
Drainage District. This is reasonable because this is all part of the West Branch of the Paw Paw River Watershed.
Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the extension of the Gates Drain from
I-94 to its confluence with the East Branch of the Paw Paw River, in light of the original intent of the drain as well as the maintenance thereof, is a need.
The Gates Drain needs to be legally described from its present day legally defined terminus to its confluence with the East Branch.
(See attached Exhibit A)
3) The Drain Code of 1956 was an Act to codify the laws relating to creating drainage districts, construction and maintenance of drains as well as to provide for the assessment and collection of taxes. The legal method for implementation described therein, however, makes the office of the Drain Commissioner one that is primarily reactive. The office of the Drain Commissioner, as defined within the Act, responds by a legally defined procedure to petitions that are properly filed.
Section 280.196 of the Drain Code provides for a path of revenue to maintain the drain fund of a drainage district; however, the monies described therein do not maintain the necessary lineal footage of the drain when soil erosion control methods are incorporated with the cleaning, deepening, widening and straightening methods that are defined within chapter 8 of the drain code.
A proactive approach to maintaining the Gates Drain would be desirable.
1) Identification of specific site locations that are inducing sedimentation into the receiving stream coupled with enforcement to minimize this point source pollution.

2) Review of cultivation practices within the agricultural areas that lie immediately adjacent to both public and private drains. Through education, implement BMP’s that create vegetation buffers along the top of banks of the drains. Placement of engineered check dams at specific locations to aid in the capture of the fine organic soil.
Corn Field located along east bank of Gates Drain
3) Streams and their flood plains are dynamic geologic systems. The Gates
Drain with its lake bottom deposits of Adrian and Houghton mucks is a very fragile geological system. An understanding of this system coupled with the implementation of stream/drain bank stabilization would go far in the reduction of sediment induced into the drain.
4) Sedimentation basins have been utilized within the Gates Drain for decades; however, if these basins are not design properly for stream velocity reduction and sediment fallout, they are ineffective. Dredging maintenance of these basins is a must to their functionality.
5) Water Quality monitoring as it pertains to total suspended solids, should be initiated as a method to monitor the effectiveness of implemented practices that target sediment reduction.

SUMMARY
The Gates Drain (West Branch of the Paw Paw River) is a cold water designated stream in the headwaters of the Paw Paw River Watershed. The Paw Paw River Watershed is recognized in the St. Joseph River Watershed Management Plan as a high priority because of the better overall water quality and intact habitat, which is coming under increased development pressure. The St. Joseph River Watershed Management Plan predicts development pressure to be the most severe in Van Buren County.
Agriculture and development within the Gates Drain will continue to increase. It is the desire of the Van Buren County Drain Office to approach the future in a proactive, systematic way to reduce the total suspended solids within the Gates Drain. Maintaining this reduction is the goal through surveillance of the drainage district with soil erosion enforcement coupled with a long term plan of implementing and maintaining Best
Management Practices (BMP’s) for the Gates Drain Watershed.
The West Branch of the Paw Paw River does not end 198 feet South of the South 1/8 line of Section 14 as the Gates Drain is legally described. It continues to flow North until it joins with the East Branch to become the South Branch of the Paw Paw River. To implement and maintain BMP’s that will reduce the amount of total suspended solids that are being introduced into the flow stream and settling out downstream, the Gates Drain must be legally described to the same point of ending as the West Branch of the Paw Paw
River.
Once the need to extend the Gates Drain to the point of ending of the West Branch of the
Paw Paw River is addressed, then the Office of the Van Buren County Drain
Commissioner can begin to implement a complete watershed management plan.