Welcome to the Tollgate Drain. The Tollgate Drain is NOT a park. The Drain Commissioner designed this system to use natural processes to control storm water and reduce pollutants, while also providing a passive recreation area for community use such as walking, jogging, and birdwatching.
The facility collects storm water from neighboring communities to prevent street flooding and flooded basements. It is a self-contained system that circulates water 24/7/365. No water is released to the river or allowed to infiltrate into groundwater. The water is used by vegetation and evaporates. Various structures and vegetation remove pollutants.
Nature intended for rainwater to runoff and soak into the earth. But when we build parking lots, roads, driveways, buildings and more, rain no longer has enough space to soak into the ground. When it gathers in a place we don't like, we call it flooding. And when rainwater runs over paved surfaces, it picks up pollution along the way.
The Tollgate Drain is not a natural ecosystem. It was carefully designed to solve the problems of quality and quantity of storm water. Every curve, hill, pond, plant and tree was carefully planned and selected to circulate storm water through the system to remove pollution and send the water on to the Groesbeck Golf Course to the west, where it can be used for irrigation. Evaporation occurs at the wetlands and the golf course. Look for signs along the trail to learn more about how the Tollgate Drain works and how it benefits the community.
Please use this area responsibly. Public access to paths around the facility is made possible by the Drain Commissioner.
Placed & maintained by a proud Lake Superior member of
Michigan Geocaching Organization!
Geocaching since October 20, 2001
