In 2015, the Looking Glass River Intercounty Drain Drainage Board contacted our staff for assistance in improving the river flow by removing flood wood and log jams.
In recent years, the die-off of ash trees and the subsequent deadfall into the channel had created a tremendous impediment to flow. Little maintenance work had been done on the river since its establishment in 1886, when the river was originally dredged by contractor Edward W. Sparrow of Lansing. That work was planned and managed by two Civil War veterans.
Once the research was completed, a maintenance plan was developed, which included six contracts spanning six years covering the 36 miles from within Clinton County, through Shiawassee County, to the Livingston County line. The contracts totaling nearly $900,000 for work done by four contractors accomplished the project within the six-year time frame.