As of 8:30 a.m. today, 9.12 inches of water must recede before the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex Emergency Action Plan is deactivated, so crews are now focusing on the water that is yet to arrive.
Keeping people safe, safeguarding property and protecting the lock and dam remain the priorities. A cooperative team led by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Incident Management Team is making progress on managing the volume of water brought by spring rains and melting snow from a record March snowfall.
More than 5 billion gallons of water passed through the dam Tuesday, and upstream lakes are just beginning to show signs of decreasing water levels.
Getting that water out through Cheboygan Dam is the only way to bring needed relief to people whose homes are flooded or blocked by washed out roads across the watershed.
Workers have faced an unprecedented amount of water, and the event is far from over. Black Lake has a legal summer elevation of 612.2 above sea level and the lake is currently 5 feet higher than that. Mullett Lake is 3 feet higher than its target summer level of 593.1, currently at 596.04.
The normal, non-flood size of Black Lake is approximately 10,100 acres. Mullett is larger at 16,630 acres. When the excess water in Mullett and Black lakes is combined, the magnitude of the task ahead takes form: Over the next few weeks crews must usher an extra 32 billion gallons of water that is being stored in the lakes through the dam, in addition to the 1 billion gallons that move through the dam on a typical April day.
Passing that water through Cheboygan Dam is not a simple 4-to-5-day operation. Progress is happening and crews are successfully moving more water than is arriving at the dam, as shown by the downward trend at the river gauge. Continued successful water passage depends on the various shapes and slopes of river sections; the capabilities of Alverno Dam, which is upstream from the Cheboygan Dam; preventing logs, weeds, and branches from clogging the dam; the speed of the flow; water in the river’s floodplain; and not receiving new water from rain.
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.
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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