April 16, 2026
As work to get the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex hydroelectric plant up and running continues, a team of up to 70 workers pitched in to shore up an upstream dam.
On Wednesday, it was reported that water had eroded a spillway of the Kleber Dam on the Black River. Work on repairs there had to pause on Wednesday due to issues on an access road.
A request also was received from the operator of the Alverno Dam in Cheboygan County’s Benton Township on Wednesday to help remove river-borne debris from the dam gates. After the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Incident Management Team responded to that request, a breach in the Alverno Dam was discovered around 11:30 p.m. After sandbagging until about 3 a.m., a large cooperative team responded Thursday to provide additional reinforcement.
The team included DNR staff, Michigan State Police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard, local law enforcement and local fire departments. They worked through the night into Thursday. Cheboygan Cement Products provided 50, 3,000-pound sandbags as well as 2,000 smaller sandbags for the effort.
State-operated drones are in use today to gauge and document the situation at Alverno and Kleber dams.
Consumers Energy is actively engaged and awaiting testing of the hydroelectric facility at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex. Besides the cooperative effort to get the privately owned hydroelectric power plant running, enormous pumps are in use. The pumps can handle 125,000 gallons per minute when fully operational. A variety of sandbags and a large, water-filled tube also are in place to guide flowing water and prevent erosion.
Spring rains and melting snow from a record March snowfall have caused rivers across the watershed to swell.
Cheboygan County emergency management officials are monitoring the situation and using the “Ready, Set, Go” system to advise residents about potential evacuations. You can find updates by signing up for the 211 information service, sign-up for local alerts and check the Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Office and follow the Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division on Facebook.
More information, including updates on water levels can be found at Michigan.gov/Cheboygandam.
