Overview
- Michigan's State Emergency Operations Center, which Whitmer activated Friday, is coordinating the response after the Cheboygan River rose to about 18 inches below the dam crest.
- On Saturday, DNR crews stacked 1,500 sandbags, ran large pumps to move water around the structure, and removed a wooden debris screen to speed flow toward Lake Huron.
- State officials added U.S. Geological Survey gauges for closer tracking, and they closed access points after ice broke a safety wire near the dam, with residents urged to sign up for local alerts.
- Engineers are studying ways to increase outflow, including the possible restart of a previously damaged hydroelectric generator that could pass more water through the complex.
- The National Weather Service links the high flows to a mid-March snowstorm and about five inches of above-normal precipitation since March 1, and forecasts of warmth and rain could push levels higher.