Cheboygan residents near a community dam on the Cheboygan River remained on stand-by to evacuate Monday, as water levels were dangerously close to overflowing the dam and potentially leading to dam failure — the ominous weather news provided no relief.
According to a Monday, April 13 Facebook post by the Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Office, water levels reached the “ready” mark of emergency managers’ “ready, set, go” warning system. A “ready” designation means residents must:
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Prepare a go-bag (medications, important documents, etc.) and review your family plan.
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Protect outdoor objects and move valuables to higher levels.
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Avoid river banks and low-lying areas.
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Monitor official updates and get ready to act.
A “ready, set, go” security approach includes these steps:
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ready: When the water is 12 inches below the top of the dam and the level rises 3 inches or more per day. Plan and/or pack in the event evacuation is necessary.
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set: When the water reaches 6 inches below the top of the dam, the water level rises at a rate of 3 inches per day or the level is predicted to rise 3 inches per day and reach the top of the dam within 48 hours. Prepare your family, pets and vehicle for possible departure by packing and preparing them.
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go to: When the water level is 1 inch below the top of the dam, it has a high chance of rising, with the possibility of failure. follow evacuation orders; Roadblocks can be set up around the perimeter.
Officials say if an evacuation order is given, residents will receive an IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System) emergency alert on their phones.
Latest Updates: Cheboygan Dam and water levels as residents prepare to evacuate
A map posted on Facebook by the sheriff’s office Monday afternoon showed a “caution zone” downstream of potential flooding from the dam that stretches from North Main Street and North Huron Street on the northwest bank of the river, and to South A Street on its southeast bank. The Cheboygan River flows northeast through the city before ending in northern Lake Huron.
The Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Office released this map on Monday, April 13, showing areas likely to be affected by flooding at the Cheboygan Dam spillover on the Cheboygan River. Heavy rains and widespread snowfall have dammed near the overtopping point.
“Water levels remain unpredictable,” sheriff’s officials said, adding that a caution zone marked along the river is a “target area for potential flooding.”
“Please avoid this area if possible. Community members within this area should be prepared by securing go bags and valuables. The alert area will be updated as the situation develops.”
Residents outside the caution zone should still maintain a high level of awareness and monitor the Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page for updates, sheriff’s officials said.
The Michigan State Police Emergency Management & Homeland Security Division also set up a webpage to get the latest information, michigan.gov/cheboygandam.
Cheboygan County Sheriff Todd Ross encouraged residents to seek information on the status of the developing dam through official channels.
“There’s a lot of misinformation going around right now about people who might be affected by this that’s not going to happen,” he said.
An aerial view of the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex on Monday, April 13, 2026. Cheboygan residents near the community’s dam on the Cheboygan River are on stand-by to evacuate due to rising water levels.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer activated the state’s Emergency Operations Center on Friday, April 10.
The Michigan Department of Transportation also lifted the US 23 Bascule Bridge in Cheboygan on Monday, April 13 and closed it to road traffic as a precautionary measure while officials continued to monitor water levels at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex.
According to MDOT, the bridge closure is to protect vehicles and pedestrians from possible damage from debris flowing into the Cheboygan River. During the bridge closure, traffic will be detoured southbound on the Lincoln Avenue Bridge.
MDOT officials said there is no timeline for reopening the bridge, which needs to be inspected before it can reopen. An operator from the Cheboygan County Road Commission will be on site and ready to open the bridge in an emergency if necessary.
Efforts are focused on allowing more water to flow into the dam
A large mechanical crane was used by Monday morning to remove gates at the dam to allow more water to flow, and agencies including the DNR, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Consumer Energy were working Monday to activate idle hydroelectric turbines at the dam, allowing more water to flow.
Michigan State Police said the water level above the dam was 13.75 inches as of Monday afternoon, up 2.25 inches from the previous day. Water level spillage in dams known as overtopping is considered dangerous because of the potential for structural damage and failure.
Meteorologist: A series of weather events has caused a crisis
Jim Kiser, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord, said the Cheboygan Dam is experiencing a higher-than-normal spring water onslaught.
“We’ve had a lot of late-season snowfall in that area, especially in March, where as you go toward Cheboygan, some areas in that area got three or four inches of up to two feet of snow with a lot of rain in that snow,” he said.
“You had a combination of a lot of water sitting on the snowpack that was late-season, and now in the last few weeks we’ve had more rain than normal in that area as well. Everything is a result of a lot of rain at once.
An aerial view of the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex on Monday, April 13, 2026. Cheboygan residents near the community’s dam on the Cheboygan River are on stand-by to evacuate due to rising water levels.
The short-term forecast for relief does not look good.
“We have several systems that are going to bring rain to the area over the next few days, and so some of these areas that are already flooded could get at least two or three inches of rain over the next week,” Kiser said. “And of course, there’s nowhere to go now.”
Some of the land in the area is also frozen, he said, which means rain is rapidly flowing into tributaries and eventually the Cheboygan River instead of being absorbed.
Cheboygan Dam goes back to the 1800s
The Cheboygan Lock and Dam, originally completed in 1869, is more than 150 years old. The current dam structure, used for hydroelectricity, was completed in 1922. It is a 21-foot-high, 580-foot-long dam that raises or lowers recreational boats by approximately 15-16 feet, connecting Lake Huron to the Inland Waterway, including the 38-mile-long Croomes River. Lake, Crooked River, Burt Lake, Indian River, Mullet Lake and Cheboygan River.
More: State activates emergency center amid risk Cheboygan Dam could overtop
Dam failures not only have immediate flooding effects downstream in the Cheboygan area, but also water levels in connected waterways and other effects. Heather Huffstutler, executive director of the nonprofit Tip of the Meath Watershed Council, said she and her staff don’t have the engineering or hydrology data to estimate potential impacts.
“The Cheboygan River watershed is an important watershed for northern Michigan’s biodiversity, recreation and local economy,” she said. “The watershed is the largest in the Met region, covering more than 900,000 acres.” That’s about the same size as Wayne and Oakland counties combined.
“That means more than six river systems and more than six inland lakes all flow into the Cheboygan River System, turning into the Cheboygan Lock and Dam facility,” Huffstutler said.
Locals worried: ‘This is uncharted territory’
Kathy lives on the Cheboygan River about two miles upstream from Eustis Dam.
“We’re used to all the water coming like this in the spring,” she said. “But we’ve never run into something like this. It’s uncharted territory.”
Eustice attended her yoga class as usual on Monday — “life goes on,” she said. But she also took precautions, throwing things in her car, filling up her gas tank on the way home, parking her car outside the garage in case the power went out.
“I worry; it’s out of my control,” she said. “There’s a lot of anxiety, and misinformed people, I think.”
Further upstream, Michael Ryan, co-owner of Indian River Marina, is hauling sand around his riverfront snack shop, where water has risen to the ground.
“I’ve owned the marina for about 13 years, and even talking to locals who have been here a lot longer than I have, we’ve never seen it at this high level before,” he said.
“Most of our docks are either underwater or within 6 to 12 inches of being underwater.”
Ryan said he’s pumping water out of the store and off his property — but that’s putting it back into the river. “It’s a losing battle,” he said.
More: The latest, water levels at Cheboygan Dam as residents prepare to evacuate
About Cheboygan Lock and Dam
The Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex is made up of the Cheboygan Lock and Dam, as well as privately owned hydroelectric facilities, the DNR noted. The complex is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Here are some key details on the Cheboygan Dam, according to Dams of the World:
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Primary Objective: Hydroelectricity
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Dam Capacity: 83,000 acre feet
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Inspection: Regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Jalen Williams, Jared Greenleaf, Jillian Fellows and Sarah Moore contributed to this report. Contact Keith Matheny: kmatheny@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Cheboygan Dam teeters near spillover as tension escalates
