HOUGHTON — Emergency managers in the Copper Country are waiting for water levels to drop to take stock of any additional damage caused from recent snow melt.

This week’s winter storm carried snow with unusually high water content, bringing more moisture to areas that had already been hit with flooding last month.

A state of emergency was declared in Gogebic and Houghton counties last month after heavy rains led to flooding on April 11, and was expanded the next week to include Alger, Baraga, Dickinson, Iron, Marquette and Ontonagon counties.

Where possible, damage assessments have continued, said Houghton County Emergency Management Coordinator Chris Van Arsdale. There does not appear to be any additional catastrophic damage, but crews will check for additional road damage as waters recede.

“While flows have increased in some areas due to there rain/snow/rain/snow this past week, the runoff seems to be staying in the already damaged areas rather than creating new ones,” he said. “There doesn’t seem to be any of the abandoned grades holding back water, which is what caused much of the original damage in the Lake Linden area.”

The county continues to have daily meetings with state partners on possible assistance mechanisms. But that can’t be finished until the damage can be fully assessed.

“We hope that we don’t have a huge amount of additional flooding, but the snow had a fairly significant water equivalent value to it,” Van Arsdale said. “So as that melts and increases the runoff, we will likely see some more, but not as much as the other counties dealing with feet of snow. The soft gravel roads are also being significantly impacted with the amount of water in the ground.”

Ontonagon County has a preliminary total for damages, but is waiting on inspections from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to finalize that number. About half of the 14 sites have been evaluated so far, said Emergency Manager Mike Kocher.

At some sites, some existing culverts may not be up to current standards and will need to be replaced, he said.

Three roads — Old M-28, Amber Lake Road and One-Mile Road — will have closures for the foreseeable future, Kocher said. Old M-28 is missing about 55 feet of road, Kocher said.

All three roads are within a five-mile radius of the Ewen/Bruce Crossing area, Kocher said.

The six counties with the most damage — Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Marquette and Ontonagon — are pooling their figures to meet the threshold that has to be reached for a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster declaration, which is about $18.7 million, Kocher said.

Kocher estimated it will be one to two weeks before the water fully recedes. However, he is thankful the county didn’t experience the power outages being seen in Marquette or the boil-water orders being seen at places in Gogebic County. Victoria Dam and Bond Falls are also not at critical stages, he said.

“Considering what’s happening in other counties, we’ve been fortunate,” he said.

Baraga County Emergency Manager Jeffrey Hubbard expects to see more flooding from snow melt in the high country. The Huron Mountains received some of the heaviest snowfall of the early-week storm.

Rivers are up to the top of the banks in some spots.

“Some of the river roads that were flooded in April are still flooded,” particularly along the Sturgeon River near Pelkie, Hubbard said.

Preliminary damages from the first flooding last month were estimated at $705,000, Hubbard said.

“We’re just kind of in the waiting mode right now to see what happens with the snow melt,” he said.

Residents can report flood-related damage by calling 211 or online at https://arcg.is/10ab1j.

As of last week, 57 people had called to report damage, said Michigan State Police Lt. Mark Giannunzio. Updated figures should be available at the end of this week.

Giannunzio encouraged people to report any damage they see.

“That can equal out to a lot of money from the federal government to get these things repaired,” he said.