Residents downstream of the Croton Dam in Newaygo County were told Thursday to evacuate as water levels rise on the Muskegon River.
“Anyone remaining in the normal river floodplain below Croton Dam is directed to Evacuate NOW,” Newaygo County Emergency Services said in an order Thursday afternoon.
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.
Water in the impoundment behind Croton Dam is 12 feet above normal.
“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.
Consumers Energy owns the Croton Dam, which it uses to make hydropower. The dam 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.
Consumers Energy has proposed selling its 13 dams, including the Croton Dam, to a Maryland private equity firm for $1 each. Executives from the potential buyer, Confluence Hydro, said they would relicense and continue operating the dams.
Some environmental groups and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources have criticized the sale plan.
Michigan braces for more flooding
Major rainfall combined with rapidly melting snow has caused widespread flooding in Michigan. Water is rising in rivers, washing out homes and roads and threatening to overtop dams.
Almost the entire state was under a flood watch or flood warning as of Thursday afternoon.
The National Weather Service said the greatest risk is in the northern Lower Peninsula and a few places in the Upper Peninsula, where ongoing flooding is expected to continue for several days, meteorologists said.
This is a developing story. Check detroitnews.com later in the day for updates.
ckthompson@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Residents told to evacuate downstream of west Michigan dam
Reporting by Carol Thompson, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
