Flooding Threatens Dams and Locks in Michigan | Columbus Ohio Dump Trucks
Water
State officials are monitoring the condition of numerous dams that are threatened by rising water.
The Cheboygan Dam and Locks in Cheboygan, Mich., was 5.5 inches from overtopping on April 15, according to the state.
A small dam failed in Alcona County, Mich., and others are in danger as state officials keep an eye on rising waters caused by record heavy rain and snow melt. The focus is mostly in the northern part of the state and the Upper Peninsula where other rain-related damage includes washed-out roads, power outages and residential evacuations in some areas.
The privately-owned Bucks Pond Dam near Barton City, Mich., failed April 13, allowing water to flow into Hubbard Lake, resulting in roadway damage but not safety issues, according to local news reports.
On April 14, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended a state of emergency first declared April 10 in Cheboygan County, where officials are concerned about rising water threatening to overcome the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex on the Cheboygan River that is managed by the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources.
“We’ve been onsite at Cheboygan with an incident management team all week," said Michelle Crook, department senior project engineer at mid-afternoon April 15. "We are 5.5 inches from our dam overtopping."
In Cheboygan, workers have placed large sandbags and 11 pumps, including two 24-in pumps to maneuver water around the dam. A crane was used to remove six gates to let water flow into Lake Huron.
Describing impacts on other dams, "we have had several that had breeches and several with water into our freeboard. There are several other privately-owned hydro dams upstream of Cheboygan that are experiencing high water events and road flooding,” Crook said.
“The whole northern lower and upper peninsula is experiencing road washouts and dam overtopping,” she added. “Water levels are below the crest of the dam [in Cheboygan], but conditions could change quickly with more rain coming,” Whitmer said in a news release.
Other dams being monitored for structural compromise include Tippy Dam in Manistee County; Mio Dam in Alcona County; Bellaire Dam, north of Traverse City; and Homestead Dam on the Betsie River in Benzonia Township.
An all-time monthly rainfall record was set as of midnight April 15 with 8.25 inches .
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Annemarie Mannion is editor of ENR Midwest, which covers 11 states. She joined ENR in 2022 and reports from Chicago.