Drain Commissioner Warns About Possibility Of Flooding

berriencountyadmin2-10
berriencountyadmin2-10

Berrien County Drain Commissioner Christopher Quattrin is warning about the likelihood of flooding this year. He addressed the Berrien County Board of Commissioners on Thursday, telling them something must be done to prevent it. Quattrin told WSJM News a couple of serious rain storms could lead to a repeat of problems seen in 2018.

“We’re seeing higher ground water levels than ever before, a record, plus the rising water and the water has no place to go,” Quattrin said. “So we’re going to start to see flooding in areas. People are going to see their basements with water in them, their sump pumps are going to run, we’re going to see water on the streets in areas, and we need to be able to have a plan to handle this.”

Quattrin said dykes, pumps, and other measures could be used to reduce the flooding. He told us the way the county is trending, “we need to start like right now” to have contractors and other plans in place. Quattrin said the areas of the county most in danger of being flooded are Benton Harbor, Harbor Shores, Grand Mere, New Buffalo, and New Buffalo Township.