Cheboygan ― The Cheboygan River remained less than 5 inches from the top of the Cheboygan Dam and Lock Complex on Friday morning, according to state officials.
The level was at 4.92 inches, according to the most recent state report released at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The level is measured each morning, and Thursday’s was .12 inches higher than the day before, authorities said.
Under the state’s “Ready, Set, Go” system, residents downstream of the dam already have been warned to be prepared to evacuate when ordered. An evacuation order would be triggered if or when the river reaches 1 inch or less from the top of the dam.
More rain, meanwhile, is forecast for Friday evening for northern Michigan, especially west of Interstate 75, according to the National Weather Service in Gaylord. Flood warnings are in effect through Sunday for nearly two dozen northern Michigan counties.
An additional .25 inches up to .75 inches of rain is possible late Friday. Strong winds are also forecast.
If the Cheboygan River water crests above the dam top, it may lead to a dam failure and major erosion to the earthen area surrounding the boat lock channel.
Because the dam is located above the downtown area of Cheboygan, there are few residential condominiums and commercial buildings that could be affected by a breach of the dam, Cheboygan County Sheriff Todd Ross said Thursday. Just beyond downtown Cheboygan, the river spills into Lake Huron, reducing the impact on property and residents, Ross said.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and local officials expressed optimism at a Thursday afternoon press conference that a dam failure could be averted.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has installed large-volume pumps on the banks of the Cheboygan River to divert water away from entering the beleaguered Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex. There is flooding upstream from the Cheboygan River on Burt, Black and Mullett lakes, as well as several rivers and streams that are tributaries to the Cheboygan River.
What is happening with other Michigan dams
Residents downstream of the Croton Dam in Newaygo County were told Thursday by Newaygo County Emergency Services to evacuate immediately as water levels on the Muskegon River rose.
Water in the impoundment behind Croton Dam is 12 feet above normal, but the director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources stressed Thursday that the dam is not in danger of failing.
“There is no trouble with the dam,” DNR Director Scott Bowen said during a Thursday press conference with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in Cheboygan, where the state is trying to avert a dam failure on the Cheboygan River.
The Croton Dam, which Consumers Energy owns and uses to make hydropower, is not at risk of failing, Consumers spokesman Brian Wheeler said. The Jackson-based utility company’s dam operators allow additional water to pass downstream when river flows are high. Water has not entered the dam’s emergency spillway, Wheeler said.
“The dam is structurally sound and operating safely,” he said.
The situation is developing rapidly, county emergency workers said. An evacuation center is available at the Newaygo County Commission on Aging, 93 S. Gibbs St., in White Cloud.
Northern Michigan bridge, road closures plague parts of region
Heavy spring rainfall and lingering melt-off of winter snow and inland lake ice have left much of Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula awash in water this week, wreaking havoc on up north roadways.
Multiple roadways and small bridges were washed away by floodwaters from Grand Traverse County on Lake Michigan to Presque Isle County on Lake Huron in the northeast Lower Peninsula.
Whitmer has placed the entire state under an energy emergency as some residents in northern Michigan have been urged to evacuate amid flooding that could worsen.
Flooding in rivers, creeks, lakes, field drains and ditches is being reported across Alcona, Alpena, Arenac, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Iosco, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon and Wexford counties.
fdonnelly@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Cheboygan River remains less than 5 inches from top of dam. Friday updates
Reporting by Francis X. Donnelly, Max Bryan and Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
