CHEBOYGAN COUNTY – As of 8:30 a.m. Thursday, 9.12 inches of water must recede before the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex Emergency Action Plan is deactivated, according to a Michigan State Police (MSP) press release. Crews were focused on the water that was yet to arrive.

MSP stated that 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’ (DNR) Incident Management Team was making progress on managing the volume of water brought by spring rains and melting snow from a record March snowfall.

More than five billion gallons of water passed through the dam Tuesday, and upstream lakes were just beginning to show signs of decreasing water levels, the release stated.

“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,” MSP said in the release.

According to MSP, 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 five feet higher than that, according to the release. Mullett Lake is three 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, according to MSP. Mullett Lake is larger, at 16,630 acres. 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 one billion gallons that move through the dam on a typical April day.

The release stated that progress is happening and crews are 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. Individuals can find updates by following the Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Office Facebook Page.