Courtesy photo of Cheboygan dam with water pouring out of its chutes.

CHEBOYGAN – Multiple state, local, and private groups are actively working to manage the water levels at the Cheboygan Dam and assist residents affected by high water. As water levels continue to drop, the area is not out of the woods just yet.

Crews have been working around the clock and using every resource available to help the hundred-year-old dam. Including diverting hundreds of millions of gallons of water per day, around the spillway, with the help of 17 large pumps.

On April 17, crews from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Army Corps of Engineers, and local partners successfully brought the inactive hydroelectric plant back online. This significantly increased outflow and helped drop water levels by approximately two inches a day.

A meeting was held Monday night at the Cheboygan Opera House where the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) provided an update on the ongoing efforts at the dam.

According to information released on Michigan.gov:

Water levels at the dam have stabilized and are slowly dropping overall, despite minor fluctuations from weekend rain. As of 9:30 a.m. Monday, the river is 7.68 inches below the top of the dam. That is down 0.12 inches from the previous reading. At its highest point, the water was about five inches from breaching the top of the dam.

In a press release issued on Monday the DNR said work will continue on the local flooding a rising water, despite there being improvements.:

“Work continues today at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex and three dams on the Black River – Alverno, Kleber and Tower – to keep water flowing and prevent flooding at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam.”

The update goes on to say :

“Led by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Incident Management Team, workers removed a jam of wood and other river-borne debris from the Tower Dam on the Black River, which feeds into the Cheboygan River. They also opened gates to increase water flow through Kleber Dam and continued sand bagging, cleaning debris gates and monitoring at Alverno Dam, the dam immediately upstream from the Cheboygan Dam.”

In the Black Lake area water levels submerged lakefront homes and sent docks to unknown locations downstream. Entire neighborhoods and rental properties on the north, west, and south sides of Black Lake were engulfed with water.

Near Black River, waterfront properties, roads, and low-lying areas have been flooded, causing a major road to washout on South Black River Road leading to closures and the possibility of additional erosion.

In a Facebook post on Monday, State Rep., Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, discussed the situation in the Black River and Black Lake areas.

“The Black River and Black Lake have engulfed our neighborhoods,” Cavitt said. “I’m actively working to secure the state and federal resources we desperately need during this crisis.”

In a press release issued on Monday from Alpena County Emergency Operations they gave an update on the dams in Alpena County.

“Eagle Creek Renewable Energy reported Area Dams are sound. The dam at 9th Street is seeing reduced levels. Time is still needed for the watershed as a whole to clear. Hubbard Lake still has elevated levels due to the failure of a private dam in Alcona County last week.”