Water Level

[TiltonBB]

Originally Posted by Resident 2B

So they cannot raise it in the morning when they arrive for work and lower it in the evening when they go home? I do not understand why that is impossible.

R2B

That is because you are not a state "worker". It must be on a "need to know" basis and people like us don't need to know!

[RLW]

Monarch Vu , I just noticed that you are fairly new to posting on the forum after joining back in August 2013. We are glad that you have come aboard and joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum while making many new friends.

Thanks for logging in on the forum and speaking up. Enjoy and come on back more often.

[jeffk]

The management of the water level is more of an art than a science. The amount of water that flows into the lake depends on a lot of factors that cannot be accurately measured, only guesstimated. When there is a heavy rainfall and several inches of rain enter the lake, it can take 3 or 4, 24 hour days to drain the lake back down. If you drop the rate during the day that could now take 5 or 6 days. Suppose there is another rainstorm in that time? Now too much water is in the lake and you have to take extreme measures to get rid of it.

Further, the amount of water that can be drained is limited by downstream concerns. It's not just Winni that is being managed.

Most of the time, people want a bit less than a full lake to limit erosion and other high water damage. But not too low to cause rock clearance and shallow area problems. These concerns can be in conflict with access through some other areas because of water on the high side of normal. You are not going to make everyone happy.

I think the best you will get is that it is somewhat predictable. I think the dam operators have done a pretty good job over the last couple years keeping things within expected parameters. Except .... the last few weeks has seen the level rising and the dam NOT increasing output. That seems like a goof up.

[Lakegeezer]

When the level is full, or above, erosion is going to occur, especially with the multi-foot level wake that comes on weekends. The frequency, wave height and intensity of wake is scouring shoreline much more than it was 50 years ago, or eons before that. This, along with many other things, is accelerating a millennial of lake aging into a century or two.

While I agree that the dam operation staff has done well over the past few years, it would be nice to see more transparency into their decisions. For example, why does the lake discharge report show a 99% drop in flow (4-5 cfs) for two days starting July 11'th? Is it valid data or instrumentation failure? Why is the discharge rate today at 600 cfs, when the lake is at the top range of normal? A weekly blog from the dam operations staff would be appreciated.

Some have proposed that boat wake is no worse for the lake than a good windstorm. Perhaps on the lee side of the broads, this is true. For the narrow sections of the lake, it is not. Nature (other than human nature) never hits the shoreline in the same way.

Don't get me wrong. Winnipesaukee is still a very clean lake when compared to others. But the mechanisms that cause increased aging are easy to find. Government (fed, state, local) action can help reduce "cultural aging", but those methods are not popular or as effective as everyone doing their part.

Our responsibility, as stewards of the lake, is to become better educated on the issues and causes of reduced quality, then take steps to reduce our contributions to the lake's aging.

We can start by reducing the speed and volume of water running off our properties. Remove pet's waste. Don't use phosphorus based fertilizer on our lawns. Greatly reduce use of insecticides, such as diazinon (for ants) and pyrithrines (for mosquitoes) - as a very small amount will wipe out microscopic algae eating creatures. Maintain septic systems. Help to educate others.

We all contribute to the lake aging faster. The lake can absorb some human activity, but not an infinite amount. The first steps to a cure is awareness and stewardship.

The point of all this is, while we should all do our part, the state controls the dam - which along with weekend boat traffic - is also a major contributor to lake aging.