Work continued Saturday at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex and smaller upstream dams to keep water flowing safely into Lake Huron.
Friday, workers successfully restarted hydroelectric turbines at the complex, helping to relieve pressure on the dam, which is in danger of overtopping because of snowmelt and spring rains.
“The turbines are running and moving a substantial amount of water,” said Mike Janisse, co-leader of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Incident Management Team. “We are grateful to the many local, state, federal and private partners that have worked beside us in this effort.” The DNR manages part of the lock and dam complex, which includes the privately owned hydroelectric plant.
To help protect the Cheboygan complex, the state is also working with private dam owners to bolster dams further upstream to prevent breaches or flooding.
“We have work in progress to reinforce against erosion at the Alverno Dam,” Janisse said. “We are doing work to keep the gates at Kleber and Tower dams free of debris.”
River-borne branches can slow water flow. Boats are being used to collect debris from the river to keep it from entering the Cheboygan Dam.
At full capacity, the hydroelectric turbines can move nearly one-third more water through the dam than previously, pumping an additional 2,000 cubic feet per second.
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 following the
Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Office Facebook Page.
On Friday, April 10, the governor declared a state of emergency for Cheboygan County due to the threat of overtopping at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex, which remains in effect.
On Tuesday, April 14, Governor Whitmer activated the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) statewide to monitor weather-related events.
That same evening, the governor declared an energy emergency statewide due to a disruption of gasoline supply at the U.S. Energy Cheboygan terminal on the Cheboygan River.
On Wednesday, April 15, the governor expanded the state of emergency declaration to Alcona, Allegan, Alpena, Antrim, Arenac, Barry, Benzie, Charlevoix, Clare, Crawford, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Gratiot, Iosco, Kalkaska, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Menominee, Missaukee, Montcalm, Montmorency, Newaygo, Oceana, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Osceola, Presque Isle, Roscommon, Saginaw, Shiawassee and Wexford counties.
On Friday, April 18, the state of emergency was expanded to include the counties of Eaton, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Mecosta, and Muskegon, and the cities of Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo.
The Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division (MSP/EMHSD) activated the Joint Information Center (JIC) as the source of state agency information dissemination. Find links to and sign up to receive
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