Roscommon County weighs studies, EGLE guidance and bidding timeline for lake-level control projects
Summary
County lake manager Chase Shepke briefed commissioners on Saint Helen, Higgins and Houghton lakes, noting downstream restrictions, EGLE's 50 CFS low-flow guidance and a recommendation to consolidate studies and prepare a detailed operations manual before final design and bids.
Chase Shepke, the county's lake manager, gave a comprehensive update on lake-level control structures and recommended a cautious, data-driven approach before committing to new structural work.
"Currently, 2 inches over summer lake level...What is restricting the flow seems to be the bridge to the other side of the river," Shepke said about Lake Saint Helen, and later described Higgins Lake as "0.5 inch over summer lake level" with culverts at the road limiting additional flow even if gates are opened. He told the board that EGLE has been using a 50 cubic-feet-per-second (CFS) figure tied to spawning-season requirements and that the county should assemble an operations manual and a defensible technical record to explain any alternate plan.
Shepke described options for addressing conflicting analyses: rely on a professional engineer (he said a PE study is often required by statute), seek peer review from university faculty or aggregate past studies for targeted follow-up. He estimated a thorough operational manual and permitting process could take "1.5 to 2 years" for the more involved options and noted the last PE-level engineering he found dated to the 1950s (Ayers report).
Public commenters urged a full reexamination: Dave Bisbee told commissioners he believes the county may have been "out of compliance legally, at least since the 1st of the year" and asked that all pieces be considered before progressing with design. Commissioner discussion focused on clarifying who must approve downstream flows (EGLE, DNR, or operator) and on scheduling a work session to formalize bid packet language and the public-process steps required before soliciting bids.
Board direction: commissioners asked staff to (1) clarify the attorney's legal opinion about authority and any drain-commissioner references, (2) consolidate and review prior studies and FOIA materials, (3) engage engineers/advisory members for a focused review, and (4) bring a formal bid packet and timeline to a public work session before publishing bids.
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