The need for the proposed Ross Lake ecosystem and infrastructure improvements is driven by the fallout from the 2020/2021 floods around the state of Michigan, specifically mid-Michigan. The City of Beaverton does not have the financial resources to remedy these issues in a timely manner and sought support from ECT. ECT actively helped identify, apply for, and secure funding opportunities to complete these projects with the city and Gladwin County drain offices through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).
The floods brought significant sediment inflow from upstream tributaries, including four rivers, county drains, storm sewers, and street overflows, into Ross Lake. As the water backed up, it degraded the water quality and damaged the city’s infrastructure. Ross Lake has been severely impacted by the output of excess sediment from the upstream farmland, which carries nutrients settling in the impoundment. This has also degraded the water quality, created navigational safety issues and exacerbated weed growth that limits use of the lake. This project will help remedy both the excess sediment in the lake and improve the undersized, outdated city infrastructure to reduce flooding potential, improve safety and water quality in the lake, and meet the community’s needs.
ECT continues to support this project through conducting field investigations, supporting the environmental study work, NEPA compliance, cultural resource concerns, design services, modeling, cost analysis, permitting, procurement, construction oversight, and grant management support.