Oakland University has installed the first Michigan "Beaver Deceiver," a drainage tube that allows water to flow past a beaver dam to prevent or reduce flooding without disturbing the animals, the Clinton River Watershed Council announced on Wednesday, Aug. 27.
Officially called a pond leveler, the tube rests in the water on each side of the dam at Oakland University's Galloway Creek.
The pond leveler prevents flooding that would normally be caused by a beaver dam by directing the water to the other side of the structure rather than backing the stream up and onto banks.
"The beavers are not bothered by the device and are free to continue making dams without causing problems for their human neighbors," a news release from the environmental group
said.
Metal cages enclose the ends of the tube to prevent beavers from chewing or destroying them.
Beavers will respond to the sound of running water by trying to dam up where the sound originates, so the metal cages keep beavers far enough away that they don't hear the water rushing through.
The device was put into place after a pair of beavers moved into the in 2023 creek and constructed a dam under a footbridge, which caused flooding along a trail on the university's campus.
The collaborative project between OU and multiple state agencies was installed on Aug. 12, through a permit from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
Beavers were nearly wiped out due to 300 years of trapping and trading. Trapping, industrialization and habitat loss pushed beavers out of multiple areas of Michigan.
Over time, Michigan lawmakers developed a preference for free-flowing streams, according to Oakland University, leading to policies encouraging beaver removal via lethal control.
Beaver Solutions, a Massachusetts company specializing in resolving human/beaver conflicts, says it guarantees pond levelers will resolve problems.
"A properly designed and built pond leveler will create a permanent leak through the beaver dam that the beavers cannot stop," the company says. "In order for these pipe systems to work, they must be designed so that a beaver cannot detect the flow of water into the pipe."
Oregon-based nonprofit Project Beaver notes that ponds attract a variety of wildlife, but can be "too much of a good thing."
"Similar to the overflow drain in your bathtub, a pond leveler hides the leak in the middle of the beaver pond where they don’t think to look for it, while capping the water level at an acceptable maximum height that does not damage human infrastructure," the organization said.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 'Beaver Deceiver' installed to stop flooding at Oakland University
