When to Call Us

The Livingston County Drain Commissioner’s Office responds to calls related to flooding associated with higher flows in county drains under our jurisdiction. Some county drains may be identified as a river, stream, ditch, tile, or a storm water sewer in a subdivision. Some flooding issues are caused by how land is used, and may be a private issue that would need to be worked out by neighbors or civil issue by the courts. Some flooding incidents occur on natural streams or private drains where the Drain Commissioner does not have maintenance responsibility. No anonymous calls are taken by the Drain Commissioner’s office for Service Requests. For more information regarding your rights regarding drainage on your property, review the Riparian Living brochure or Riparian Letter.

The Livingston County Drain Commissioner’s office maintains several dams in the county. While in most instances the Lake Levels are court ordered, in circumstances of extreme drought or extreme rain, the elevations will vary.

The Livingston County Drain Commissioner’s office inspects, operates and maintains existing county drains. New county drains can be established under the jurisdiction of the Livingston County Drain Commissioner’s office upon receipt of petitions received from the townships or residents in the drainage area in question. The authority to maintain county drains or establish a new county drain is supported by the Michigan Drain Code of 1956 (Act 40 of Public Acts of 1956, as amended) LINK. Contacting the office or initiating a Service Request will get the information required to initiate an inspection or required documents to establish a new county drain.

All of the county drains under the jurisdiction of the Livingston County Drain Commissioner have easements or right-of-ways. The property owner retains ownership, but is restricted from building permanent structures that may impede drain maintenance within the easement area.  Constructing a drain crossing or tap-in, would require a permit (Drain Crossing Permit) with a fee and will need to be inspected by the drain staff. A call or visit to the Livingston County Drain Commissioner’s office will direct you through this process. 

24/7 – The Livingston County Drain Commissioner’s office maintains and operates several community sanitary sewer systems within Livingston County. The Livingston Regional Sanitary System is one of those systems located in Hartland and Tyrone Townships. The sanitary operators are on call 24 hours a day and seven days a week. After traditional business hours, call the Livingston County Drain Commissioner’s Office at (517) 546-0040 and leave a voicemail on the voicemail pager. The directions on the voicemail will direct you through the process and contact the operator who is on duty. Please restrict water use until you receive service or instructions from the operator. 

Notice of Claim for Damage per Public Act 222.  We do have a form that is put out by Drain office and under sanitary the form will be available.

Disposal guidelines for household hazardous waste can be found on the Household Hazardous Waste homepage. Annual programs for free or low cost collections can be utilized by residents of Livingston County.

The Drain Commissioner position on the lake improvement boards is per statute. The Lake Improvement Boards that the Livingston County Drain Commissioner sits on are: Thompson Lake, Cedar Lake, and Lake Tyrone. The Lake Improvement Boards basically oversee maintenance of weed treatment and project management. 

Under the direction of the Livingston County Drain Commissioner’s office the Solid Waste Program offers low and no cost disposal of household hazardous waste. The office provides information how to dispose of household hazardous waste through the website and guide. Electronic waste collection events can also be found on the Solid Waste web pages.

The goal of the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control permits is to minimize erosion into the waterways of the State. The authorization for this program is in accordance with Part 91 of Public Act 451, as amended, and its corresponding General Rules comes from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).