Lake level
 

Another subject that could prove interesting in the coming months is the level of the lake.
On WMUR this morning, the NH Fish & Game are concerned over the lack of rain & snow which has left the lake at mid summer levels and could affect the breeding of the fish in the lake as well as other concerns.
As much as the lack of rain makes for ideal outdoor work conditions, if we do not get more then nascence rain soon we are going to be in a severe drought before the summer even starts.

I've actually been surprised to see Winnipesaukee continuing to rise.

The outlet level at the dam on Merrymeeting was raised just before ice-out. But the level of the lake is not rising at all.

Merrymeeting is all spring and stream fed. There is a certain outflow that needs to be maintained to supply the fish hatchery below the dam, and keep the Merrymeeting River/Marsh flowing. But it appears that we are barely staying at status quo now. The level isn't going up, but it isn't falling either.

It's about 2' below normal for this time of year. I shudder to think what will happen if we don't get more rain and start seeing it rise soon.

Winnipesaukee only continues to rise because the outflow at lakeport is being held at the minimum of approx 250cfs.

Normally after ice out and the spring melt the outflow is much higher....

Which means that right now Winnisquam and silver lake are lower then normal, for this time of year

The good news is they are letting Winnipesaukee build up... so that flow can be maintained. However as the other lakes down stream run into issues, they will have to increase the flow out of Winnipesaukee, which will start to draw the lake down....

How low will they late Winnisquam and Silver lake get before they increase the flow out of Winnipesaukee that is the real question.

Getting some rain fall is very important right now... if we want to have a sustainable water depth on all the lakes in the watershed.

Carefull what you ask for
 

All you snow haters were sooo happy about this not so much of a winter and couldn't wait for the ice out.Not so happy times a coming?This snow lover doesn't wish the same fate on lake lovers,which I also am one.I'll take a rainy May please...no more snow now.:laugh:

And as most of you know, the Merrymeeting River is one of Winnipesaukee's biggest inflows. Right now, not much coming in.

yes but
 

Only on the weekends, us outdoor workers are liking the rain free spring for getting an early start on those outdoor projects.

rain
 

Don't worry- I'll be opening up the house soon, so the rain will begin.....Starting on Friday afternoons and ending Sunday evenings, just as I pass along the water on my drive home.

lake level
 

We need not worry. Starting Memorial day weekend (Sat 8 AM) thru Labor Day 5 PM it will rain every day all day from sunrise to sunset except when I am on vacation or on Wednesdays. That will bring the lake up and them robbers er ah gas stations will gobroke.:coolsm:

An anti-curse on your forcast JAB! I will be on vacation 7/1 -7/15 and there will be no rain on any of these days (Rain 2AM-4AM is ok). I plan on flying in a biiplane Independence Weekend and rain will not happen!

forcasts
 

As has been seen this winter, I projected lots of snow because of all the pine cones that came down. So much for that theroy. I can figure on two days of rain in May, When I am opening the cottage and have to work outside on the well. Seems not to fail.

Come on now Positive thoughts people :D
It will only rain when we are sleeping ;)
lake level will be 504 all summer :liplick:
Fuel will be at a all time low :eek:
and they will knock down the wide open saloon in a couple days :rolleye1:

:banana:

Please be right on just one, the last one!!!
 

Please be right on just one, the last one!!!

just looking at the NOAA website and there is a 50% chance of Rain Mon - Wed. Of next week....

Let's hope they're right. We could sure use the rain.

Weather next week
 

Hope we get all the rain out of the way before next weekend. We are unwrapping the Breeze for next weekend. Lots of buffing and waxing, a true labor of love though. Arms will be sore but the boat will be shining big time!:D:D:D

Wave 'cuz I'll be wavin' back:D

river levels
 

I thought I would post this because it gives a broader perspective and relates the flows to seasonal and historic levels. Sunny weather without water in the lakes or rainy weather with better water levels... not exactly great options...

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/...ther-area.html

Sunny weather without water in the lakes or rainy weather with better water levels... not exactly great options...


Low water levels in the lake; higher risk of fire; problems with wells;...

or rainy weather with better water levels...

Easy choice for me.

It all evens out in the end?
 

I was told from a meteorologist friend from Facebook that in the end Mother Nature tends to even things out. Long stretches of dry weather with little precipitation are made up by abnormally cool rainy stretches.
I remember several years back it rained so much many of us didn’t even put our boats into the water until the 4th of July weekend. It rained every single weekend that spring into summer.
To top it off it stayed unseasonably cool all summer long.

Remember 1998. The year you could only operate on the lake with no wake? If I recall correctly on the 4th of July weekend we were able to boat with a wake on Newfound but not Winni. I only remember this becuase I boat my boat in the fall of 1997!

The lake is now a little bit, about an inch, above full pool. The Lakeport Dam is now releasing water at 625 CFS, up from the 200 CFS or so that they have been releasing. This will help levels down stream.

One group of people we all owe a special thanks to are those dam people, bad pun intended.:coolsm: They do a great job with the water level regardless with what Mother Nature throws at them.

R2B

NH DES site down?
 

I have not been able to get into the NH DES site to look at the lake level after all this rain. This is critical for me to be able to know if I can get under the bridge at Parker's in Alton Bay. Bad timing I guess :rolleye1:.

Debris
 

Now that the lake level is up, the debris that we usually see at "ice out" has showed up. Picked up a few good size chunks of wood this past weekend.

The DES lake level sites do seem to be down today.

It is interesting that Merrymeeting Lake has not come up to normal level yet. We are still 12-15" below where we would normally be at this time of year.

There is no water coming down the sluice-way at the dam so that isn't the reason. It may just be that the springs and smaller streams that fill Merrymeeting are still not flowing well. Or Fish&Game are letting more water out though the fish hatchery than usual.

Either way, I hope we come up more soon.

Lake Level
 

According to the Winnipesaukee Data Phone this morning (5/16/12) at 7:20 AM, the lake level at the Weirs was 504.56 or 2.88 inches above full. The outflow at Lakeport was 990 CFS. Their phone number is 603-527-0071.

I hope this helps when the DES system is down.

DES Water Level site
 

I sent the webmaster a note ... that we cannot get to the site. I hope it is up soon.

Floating Debris
 

We also have debris floating into our breakwater area as the lake has risen in the past week or so. We do not make any after dark trips to or from East Bear Island for several weeks after ice-out in case any floating hull and prop "inspectors" are around. We always remove any floaters when we spot them.

I picked up a dock post yesterday in the cove...