Nichwagh Lake Dam - Green Oak Township, Michigan
Posted by: 
GT.US
N 42° 27.147 W 083° 41.750
17T E 278318 N 4703534
This Dam created Nichwagh lake.
Waymark Code: WM3RHD
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 05/11/2008
Views: 32
There isn't a lot of information available, but from this website (
visit link) I found the following information, which talks about switching the dam from private ownership to community ownership:
"Nichwagh Lake, located in Green Oak Township of Livingston County, is edged by 53 parcels (Livingston County DC, Nichwagh Lake File 2002).
A dam located on one of the lake-abutting properties had regulated the level for years. The impetus for the level-setting initiative was a letter sent in December 2001 by the owner of the dam parcel to the other community members, stating that he no longer wanted the cost or responsibility of maintaining the dam (4.1). The drain commission file concerning the lake reveals that this responsibility was considerable; as the dam’s owner, he had to pay for its maintenance and repair, manage spring draw-downs and seasonal adjustments, and deal with complaints and requests of residents (Livingston County DC, Nichwagh Lake File 2002).
Upon receiving the letter, a special education teacher and her husband investigated how the community could take over dam maintenance. After researching the ILA, she sent a letter to the residents she knew had lake frontage in which she explained the petition process and asked them to sign a petition and donate money (she suggested $100) for the survey deposit. Resco, an Oakland-based development company, sent her $5,000; another development company active on the lake contributed $1,000. Some residents mailed signed petitions and money, and she and her husband went door-to-door to raise the rest of the money and get the necessary two-thirds signatures (4.1).