Holding back the river at Cheboygan’s lock and dam | Opinion
April 16, 2026
Crews are working around the clock to protect Cheboygan from a rising river and an aging dam, highlighting a generational challenge.
A crisis is unfolding in Cheboygan, where surging water levels on the Cheboygan River are threatening the integrity of the city's lock and dam complex. A combination of heavy rain and rapid snowmelt has pushed the river to the brink, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency and leading local officials to urge residents in low-lying areas to prepare for potential evacuation. As of Thursday afternoon, the water was just over five inches from the top of the dam, a critical situation that has been worsening daily. The situation has drawn a massive response from state and local agencies, who are in a race against time to prevent the dam from overtopping.
The immediate cause of the flood threat is meteorological, but the severity of the crisis is rooted in a long-standing and complicated issue of infrastructure and ownership. The dam complex is uniquely divided: the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) owns the dam and locks, which are vital for navigation along the 40-mile Inland Waterway. However, an adjoining hydroelectric powerhouse, which accounts for roughly 30% of the complex's capacity to discharge water, is privately owned. That powerhouse has been offline since a fire in 2023, severely hampering the ability to manage high water flows and placing immense pressure on the state-owned portion of the dam.
Records indicate that federal regulators were aware of safety and operational issues at the privately-owned hydro plant for years but failed to compel the necessary repairs, granting multiple extensions to its owners, Hom Paper XI, LLC. This history of deferred maintenance has now become a critical factor in the current emergency. As water levels rose, emergency crews, including workers from Consumers Energy, have been engaged in a desperate, round-the-clock effort to get the defunct turbine operational again to help draw down the water. Concurrently, large pumps are being used, sandbags have been deployed, and several of the dam's gates have been removed entirely to maximize the outflow of water.
The stakeholders in this unfolding event represent a cross-section of the community and government. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been on-site, stressing the seriousness of the situation and the state's commitment to providing resources. Cheboygan County's emergency manager has been issuing escalating alerts, moving from a "ready" to a "set" phase for evacuation preparedness for residents and businesses in the potential flood zone downstream. For the residents and business owners, particularly those along the river and in downtown Cheboygan, the situation is fraught with uncertainty. While an immediate dam failure is not projected to cause the catastrophic wall of water seen in other dam breaches, the flooding could still cause significant damage to a narrow, commercial strip of the city.
The long-term implications, should the dam fail, are arguably more severe. The dam is the crucial linchpin that maintains water levels for the Inland Waterway, a chain of rivers and lakes popular for recreation and vital to the region's tourism economy. A failure would drastically lower water levels in Mullett and Burt lakes, impacting property values, recreational boating, and the local ecosystem. The focus for now remains on averting the immediate disaster. Once the water recedes, however, officials will face difficult questions about the future of the dam, the accountability of its private partner, and how to prevent a similar crisis from happening again.
Source: detroitnews