A ‘natural solution to pollution’ comes to Frandor area

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Keeping pollution out of Michigan’s waterways has been a struggle for cities statewide. For instance, the city of Lansing is nearing the completion of a decades-long project that is handling the problem in a unique way.

A new project next to Frandor Shopping Center has introduced a large green space in Lansing that doubles as a filtration system.

What looks like a brand-new park—complete with trails, a sled hill, boardwalks, and a giant fountain—is actually a water drainage system that’s going to keep tens of thousands of pounds of pollution out of the Red Cedar River.

“It’s nothing but parking lots, sidewalks, roofs, and garages and highway systems…we had to create a place for all that water,” said Ingham County Drain Commissioner Patrick Lindemann.

And they did—with a system called a “treatment train,” containing multiple bodies of water and waterfalls for filtering out sediment. The system also contains natural vegetation to handle chemicals like phosphorous, as well as limestone rocks to pull the acid out of the water.

“In its mimicking of nature, it cleans the water—pollution extraction equals somewhere about 70,000 pounds annually,” Lindemann said.

Citizens of Lansing say they appreciate the quality of life contribution.

“It’s a perfect combination of—you need the infrastructure, and make it beautiful, and make it an amenity; that’s what we need,” said Nancy McCrohan, who rides her bicycle in the area.

When new trails popped up around the city’s new Montgomery Drainage System, McCrohan was surprised at how nice they were.

“This is a great extension, and it helps connect all the pieces, so you can just go and go on your bike without stopping for quite some time,” said McCrohan.

The clean water from the system flows into manmade ponds, only to be recycled through the system using powerful pumps.

The contaminated water never touches the Red Cedar, and the chemicals stay out of Lake Michigan.

Lindemann and his team also set up habitats for wildlife along the route, including sandbanks for turtle eggs and rock clusters for reptiles.

All of this makes for quite a scenic bike ride right in the city of Lansing.

“It’s here, it’s beautiful, it’s ready for you, it’s here for you; come and take advantage of it; everybody has to come out and play,” McCrohan said.

The infrastructure of the system is set to be complete in late August, and it will be able to filter out more than 180 types of pollutants that flow into our rivers.

The Tollgate Drain

The Montgomery Drain is not Lindemann’s first drain system to use nature to clean run-off water. The first was the Tollgate Drain , completed in 1998. It’s a 14-acre property off Grand River Ave. between Fairview Ave. and Wood St. in the Groesbeck neighborhood. It handles water runoff from the Groesbeck Golf Course.

Lindemann and his team recently installed signs to explain the drain’s operations. It’s become so effective in cleaning the water and creating a slice of nature in the middle of the city, that Blanding’s turtle —a species of concern—has taken up residence in the water systems and established a breeding population.

6 News stopped by Friday afternoon. Following are pictures and videos from the system.

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