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High Winni Water Level
July 7, 2023 and looking at the BearCam, it now has three 17-gallon rope handle tubs, filled with lake water, and set strategically on the dock, there, to keep the wood sections from floating away.
17 gal x 8-lb = 136-lbs, each tub, $7.98 Walmart, plus you get to use the tubs for yard work, later on ..... very good! |
Its the highest I have ever seen at this time of year
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It really is high!!
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Dumb question, but why not let the excess out and flush it down the river?
Or is the river already at or near flood stage? |
Downstream is already too high.
Silver Lake is in a No Wake order. |
Issued July 4, 2023: a ..... http://www.nhsp.dos.nh.gov/news-and-...er-silver-lake ..... for Silver Lake, a 202-acre "lake" in the Winnipesaukee River.
Lake Winnipesaukee which is 45,440-acres size and 75-billion gallons water has only one outflow, the Winnipesaukee River ...... http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/maps...ver_tilton.pdf ..... which meanders through Laconia, Belmont, Tilton, and Franklin before draining into the Merrimack River. If the Lakeport Dam in Laconia lets out too much water from Lake Winnipesaukee then the homes on Silver Lake in the Winnipesaukee River in Belmont/Tilton get flooded, plus Silver Lake is also dam controlled, somehow or other, by the Lochmere Dam at the inflow to Silver Lake and the entire Lake Winnipesaukee water drainage outflow flows out through the Winnipesaukee River which includes Silver Lake. You got all that! Attention: there will be a 50-question pop quiz with all questions based on information taken from these two above links at 9-pm, tonight! |
Winnisquam is dam controlled by the Lochmere Dam.
Opeechee is dam controlled by the Avery Dam. Water flows freely out of Silver Lake down the Winni to Franklin were the next dam is. Since nothing is holding the water back in Silver Lake... pouring more into it cannot be compensated by opening a dam on the other end to let some out. It just has to move freely into the floodplain and down the river. Eagle Creek is reporting that they are flowing what they can. |
All the downstream indicators are very high, and Winnipesaukee is about 6" over full. That's a lot but nowhere near a no wake point (it was several inches higher at the end of April THIS year).
The Lakeport dam output is at about 1200 CFS, which would drop the the lake roughly 1/2" per day. It would take about 10 days to run off the excess 5". HOWEVER, the predicted rain over the next 10 days is about 3", PLUS any runoff, negating most of the dam's effect. Further, that rain will prevent downstream from dropping their levels and make it concerning to increase the Lakeport output even more. As long as we keep getting all the rain, like we have been getting over the last month or so, it will be a slow process to drop Winnipesaukee's water level. |
Funny (Not funny) this thread started with a post on April 9th asking why the water level was so low. Times and conditions have changed.
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High Water
WMUR "Lake levels around the state are up, like Lake Winnipesaukee, 6 inches above normal, Lake Sunapee, 6 inches, Lake Winnisquam, 9.5 inches and Silver Lake in Belmont is so high it's under a no wake order."
To me, it seems like more than 6 inches up. This weeks potential rain won't make it any better. https://www.wmur.com/article/rain-ne...-high/44482163 |
There has been so much rain, there is no where for it to go....... it is just going to be one of those years...... Hopefully they will be able to continue to open the dam in 100 cfs increments a few times this week.... the problem right now is that they are trying to keep All the lakes in the chain at a point where they are usable for recreational purposes, and don't have to enact no wake protocols..... unfortunately they have not been able to do that for the owners on Silver Lake which almost reached flood stage is currently at a now wake water level....
As for me my dock is weighed down, and still breathing, although with the rain this week, it might be underwater soon.... and need some more wight added..... |
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This would go good with their business because it will give people both something to do, there, plus something interesting to watch, there outdoors, a ping pong game in action. |
Ping Pong?
Ping Pong? Remember those igloos for outdoor ding during the pandemic? Soon, with AI, those will be outfitted for whatever location you want. Tap your credit card and a few keys and you can be on Bourbon Street, or sitting with Gary at Buena Vista with an Irish Coffee.
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Today is Wednesday, July 12, and looking at the weather forecast for this weekend, July 14-15-16, Fri-Sat-Sun, it says rain 90%-60%-70% for these three days.
Having a rainy weekend what with the high Lake Winnipesaukee water level which is going up and up will definitely make for a lot fewer boats out there, making big boat wakes that hit the shoreline and shake, rattle and roll a submerged, or almost submerged dock a lot less likely to be happening. A relatively light weight aluminum dock will pitch and roll like a slinky or something when an incoming two foot boat wake rolls underneath it and uplifts it with each water slap ....... slap-slap-slap ..... that 500-lb dock just done got moved one inch by an incoming wake ..... slap-slap-slap. Is why some boats get stored on a boat lift ..... too many waves and wakes .... slap-slap-slap .... moving lake waves and wakes have power and energy ..... is called 'water power.' |
So the lake is actually now starting to go down some according to the DES page this morning. They are allow ~1750 cfs to flow out of the dam, so with no rain there should be another good improvement in the lake level today....
The question becomes how much rain will we see this weekend, and how will it effect the current situation..... As high as Winnipesaukee is right now, because it is being lowered, Winnisquam is going to be rising as its dam is only open to around ~1500 CFS, and sliver lake will remain in a no-wake situation for the foreseeable future.... The good news is NASCAR is in town, so there is somewhere beside the lakes being the focal point of the weekend.... |
Got my self into a situation that is taking up to much of my time. Must vent. Our neighbors, a older couple from MA. Their pole dock is a mess due to high water and wakes. I have used rocks and buckets to keep it in place, but it needs to be pulled and reinstalled. They refuse to call anyone until they “asses the damage themselves”. So they call me. Daily. I have pulled floating boards back to shore numerous times this week. Must add they have no time table to return north to asses. Done. Thanks for listening
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What do you know ..... here's a dock installation ad from Craigslist/Laconia posted July 2 .... Dock Installation ...... http://www.nh.craigslist.org/mas/d/l...639030612.html (does this link work? probably not) ....... in Services in Marine with 3 photos and it says:
dock installation (Laconia) Skilled marine construction worker. In the dock installation Business for 8 years. Am willing to take on most jobs. Will need to do site visits for price estimates. Seasonal docks, rafts, boat lifts, dock repairs, the list goes on. Please call me by txt or call 603 581-8847 |
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Thursday, July 13, 2023 ...... http://www.twitter.com/NH_HSEM/statu...60832571187201 .... maybe heavy rain and wind tonight?
Is it time to rig a line from your jetski lift, out front to an anchor set into the lake floor to maybe keep it from getting knocked over by the waves and high water? Thursday, July 13, 2023 ...... http://www.dos.nh.gov/news-and-media...h-water-levels .... urges caution due to high water levels Thursday, July 13, 2023 ......http://www.wmur.com/article/lake-sun...er-nh/44538660 ..... Lake Sunapee; motorboat towing a water-tuber raises havoc with all-wood dock and boat house Who you gonna call for dock repair work if it's too much to do-it-yourself? In Laconia you can maybe try ...... "Skilled marine construction worker. In dock installation Business for 8 years. Am willing to take on most jobs. Will need to do site visits for price estimates. Seasonal docks, rafts, boat lifts, dock repairs, the list goes on. Please call me by txt or call 603 581-8847" ...... posted in Craigslist on July 2 and on June 20 under services/marine Thursday, July 13, 2023 ..... http://www.vtdigger.org/2023/07/13/r...coma-lake-dam/ ..... Rescuers aid 3-people fishing on pontoon boat with motor that stalled out, hung up on Mascoma Lake dam in Lebanon, NH |
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This about covers it!
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So I looked at the DES website, the dam now is spilling out about ~1800 cfs..... so hopefully over the weekend we will see some positive changes in the lake level..... even with the forecasted rain....
Remember at around 1920 cfs the lake will drop about 1 inch per 24 hour period. of Course that I believe takes into account a minimal inflow.... |
Winni is still about 4" over full and 3" of rain is predicted over the next 10 days, plus runoff. At the current dam release rate of roughly 1" per day that should bring us down to full lake in about 10 days
Things are headed in the right direction and, given the copious amounts of rain we have had in the last month or so, that is really good management of the water level by DES. |
My water level is the highest its been even back in april
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Possible 300 Foot Safe Passage
From the Laconia Sun:
It’s worth noting that the current lake level, though apparently a record for this date, is still lower than the highest level in recent history. The “Lake Winnipesaukee Lake Level Data Graph,” published by DES, shows that a level of nearly 506 feet had been previously recorded. https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news...613735ed3.html |
Request
I met a 91 year old gentlemen this morning at the Glendale docks. He has a mainland home along Belknap Point. He respectfully asked me to spread the word to anyone I knew who boated to please be observant of your wakes during this time of extreme high water. His rock walls and property were taking a beating by a FEW boaters getting too close to shore. He graciously asked to keep as much distance from the shore as possible so wakes will decrease before hitting the shoreline.
Sounded like a very reasonable and sensible request so I told him to "consider it done"! Dan |
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I had just raised my dock this past weekend.... and now it looks like I need to weigh it down again..... Although I did see they are going to open the valve another 200 cfs today, to 1150 cfs.... hopefully that will start to bring the lake down.... I would really like to see it up at around 1500 cfs, and maybe it will get their by the weekend.... 505 ft. is getting more and more realistic!!!!!!!!! |
Email today from Lake Winnipesaukee Association
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My son in law just got a new wake boat. The kids were out in it having a good time yesterday at dusk with the tunes cranking and a good roll set. It was the first nice day in awhile. My grumpy neighbor was yelling and complaining because they were washing out his waterfront and destroying his dock. Anyone have recommendations where we can go near the neck to enjoy the lake? A no wake infringes on our rights to the pursuit of happiness.
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Don't even know where to start with a response to that.
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I do. Your disrespectful children should be a where of there surroundings and the issue we are all facing at the time. Clearly your parenting skills are weak. Respect your neighbor and remind, no tell your children to move away from the location in question
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It Is...
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Skip the neck. Plenty of Atlantic off Portsmouth….
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Troll
Poster wentworthwhitbreadIII is obviously trolling...Best not to feed the trolls...
Dan |
Gents I may have been projecting as I was the cranky neighbor ;-). The lack of respect by my neighbor ‘s sense of entitlement is ridiculous
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When I started coming to the lake many years ago, muck on our shore front was none existent.... now it is gathering more and more.... fortunately my family is active enough in the water that we stir it up, and it moves along.... but I wonder how much longer that will continue to be the case.....How much longer before the invasive species, that have lived in certain sections of the lake, continue to spread into more of the lake....Having seen the damage invasive species can do on Lake Champlain, I am concerned that in another 30-40 years my grand kids will not think of Winnipesaukee as a desirable place to go on a constant basis... |
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And it never used to be about partying but a nice quiet place to relax.
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courtesy and common sense.
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Alan |
Comment removed as not germane to this thread.
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What is a "STR"?
Short term rental? |
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I know you've been looking forward to your vacation this week. But please stop your water skiing and wake surfing between Stonedam and Meredith Neck. PLEASE.
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Planning to head out on Lake Winni this weekend? Please be conscious of your wake and "double the distance" to 300 ft. from the shore. Winni is approximately 7 inches above full lake level, and the average (1982-2022) lake level for Winni at this time of year is 504.00. The dam bureau is discharging flows at 1550 cubic feet per second which is equivalent to almost 700,000 gallons per minute! There are no cyanobacteria alerts or advisories within the Lake Winnipesaukee watershed at this time.
“Double Your Distance!” New Hampshire Marine Patrol and LWA are in agreeance that we need to "double the distance!". The safe passage law remains the same, restricting boaters to headway speed within 150 feet of any other boat, shore, docks, or mooring fields, but Capt. Brendan Davey with the Department of Safety said current conditions warrant doubling that distance. Staying 300 feet from the shore and maintaining headway speed will help reduce your impact on the shoreline. Pollution and sediment are added to the lake at an alarming rate in rain events like these because the ground only has the capacity to absorb so much. Because of the high water level, with the added height and additional wave power, waves are crashing onto the shoreline and affecting areas that normally would not be impacted. Storm runoff contains bacteria, pollutants, and excess nutrients that are washed into the lake. Reducing your wake and doubling your distance will help reduce your impact on Lake Winnipesaukee. https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news...613735ed3.html |
Good luck with 300 ft. when you can't even get them to not make a wake in a no wake zone or 150 feet from shore/ docks etc. They have no clue.
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How can you get this information to renters? Should the rental agencies have pamphlets or brochures that they can give that explains all the rules on the lake?
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Rate of discharge...
How can I find the rate of Winni water discharge at Lakeport dam?
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Good luck getting renters to abide by it. The regular, make a big wake have a loud stereo boats, that are based on the lake won't stop doing their thing, and don't seem to care. What would make you think a renter would? Two of these environmental disaster boats went up and down in front of my house (with the music blaring) for a long time yesterday. One was within 100 feet from shore. Their wakes washed over my docks loosening boards, over my seawall into the yard, and bounced the boat around. Today's project is to try to refasten some of the planks that came up. I am not sure if the "make a wake blast the stereo" boat owners know and don't care, or are just clueless about the problems they cause. |
Looking at the weather forecast for the next eight days till August 1st, and feel'n the weather, it sure seems like the rainy weather has done left the building for now. This should be a BIG plus for lowering the Lake Winnipesaukee water level by about 3.5-inches between today and August 1st. Time will tell and we just have to wait and watch as the level goes down a wee small bit, each and every day, now till August 1.
I know there was some people on this lake with a very olde aluminum dock, low in the water, and actually one to three inches under the water, all weighted down with 32-gal trash water barrel, granite blocks, concrete garden blocks and 250-lb 5-gal concrete bucket, about 20 different weighty items, that was able to survive yesterday's 10-hour constant incoming big water wakes just fine with no damage what-so-ever because it, the dock, was weighted down and mostly underwater ..... just like a submarine. So, where there is a will, there is a way! You just need to think it ahead a little bit and assume that some bad things will usually happen ...... (you got that, Looney Bin ...... ;)). |
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They were clearly skilled at what they were doing, so we assumed not new to the lake/activity, but clearly did not think at all about their actions OR didn't care. Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk |
I have two 32 gal. trash barrels filled with water (plus several smaller ones). Each 32 gal. weighing over 200 #'s. Yesterday, a huge cruiser came about 50-75' away with the largest wake I've seen throwing both barrels up about 8-10" and they didn't settle back in a good position. Trying to move those barrels, without having to drain them, and reposition the boards, was not an easy task.
I've not seen any decrease in the Lake level for the last few days. In fact, it looks about 1/2" higher than last Friday. |
Insurance claims...
I wonder how many insurance claims this activity has generated and would a substantial increase affect the decision to make the Lake a NWZ?
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So I looked at the DES page this morning, the lake is indeed coming down, again. It is currently at ~504.84 which means the lake is down somewhere around ~1 inch since it high point.... The dam is being openned back up to ~1670 cfs... it had been put down to ~1500 cfs.... If we avoid any serious rain accumulation the lake level should fall some more this week, and hopefully they will feel that they can open the dam even a little further later this week.
For those that have asked, the following website can be used to get information on the lake level and dam outputs... https://nhdes.rtiamanzi.org/ |
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https://www.des.nh.gov/resource-cent...bcategory=Dams |
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The long number of rain days compressed the usage, and the high levels when the sun is out, just further complicated it for the short term. If the weather pattern proved consistent year-after-year, the Legislature might make some other changes... but I honestly feel that it would not go as far as the entire lake all the time. |
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Woodsy |
What does need to happen are rule changes that allow lakeside property owners to repair and or modify their property without the overwhelmingly regulations. Bring in more stone as required. Move a rock or two without risk of a fine
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The tourism engine is always crying foul about something. So really Honestly, I don't think that plays part in the decision at all... As I have said all along, I don't even think the state would consider a NW order for Winnipesaukee until it went over 505 ft. and while we where close it didn't get there... At that level, many marina's, and yacht clubs start running into issues..... Up until then most of the problems are from individual home owners... |
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We should see some level drop this week. 4:30 PM today. There is a lot of water going over the Lakeport Dam.
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Alan |
Could "Model Help" Be On The Way...?
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I sure picked a terrible summer to hire a helper to repair major dock damage! :eek2: ...and wind is preferable even when returning from an 8-mile distant Wolfeboro fireworks display in a 14-foot wooden boat. (Back when the biggest boat in Winter Harbor was a 18-foot wooden Thompson)... But I think help is on the way! (Starting elsewhere, of course). Quote:
One has mud puddling where their new lawn was supposed to go...much mud has already flowed into the lake... |
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Maybe the water was absorbed into the shore from all the wave action on Sunday. :eek:
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Of course this may mean once the get the lake level back down, they will increase flows out of this lakes and the lake will rise a bit again..... There is intertwined dance that has to go on to get all this water down stream... |
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In all seriousness, my neighbor on Bear is built extremely close to the water. The waves last week at one point were breaking over the sea wall and splashing her on her covered porch! |
Water Level Control
I just look at some of these pictures and I think, DAM!
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Please explain how 2 tenths of an inch equates to 2.5 inches. Answer soon as I want to apply this math in other areas! |
I think what LIF was referring to was that a decrease in the observed lake level based on the state chart for the Wein3 station of 0.2 inches equates to about 2.5 inches. 0.2 x 12 = 2.4 inches
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Forget the math. The lake has in fact declined in level today, Tuesday 7/25/23.
Easy, done! |
We're at Oct. 1 cumulative rainfall already!
If I read the DES chart correctly, right now (July 25) if it stopped raining for two months and one week, we would back at average precipitation for the year on Oct. 1! In other words, to no one's surprise, we are WAY ahead on precipitation this year. Maybe we'll get a dry August and September but I doubt it unless the jet stream straitens itself out (not forecast to happen over the next ten days).
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Mother Nature always equals herself out. Agree. A dry August and September maybe in the forecast
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Today I will calculate again the high point looks like it was around 504.95 on July 18th. Today the lake is around 504.69. so .95 - .68 = .26 of a foot drop so that is 2.6 tenths X 1.2 inches per tenth = 3.12 inches like wise you can do .26 of a foot X 12 inches per foot = 3.12 inches Today's math lesson has been brought to you by the number 5 and the letter W....... |
Good stuff. And my eyes are telling me we dropped a bit on this lake. Have a good day
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Clear as mud.
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Didn't you mean the lake is down 2 tenths of a foot? |
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August and September will come and go quickly, and hard data on precipitation in relation to the average will be known. |
So here is a hypothetical question for everyone;
We all received record amounts of rain in June and July. If this were fall as snow during the winter then how much snow would approximately this equate to ? I think we received somewhere between 8 and 12 inches so I assume it would be a very high snowfall amount...... Anyone have any idea ? |
Isn't, given average moisture content, 10" of snow per 1" of water?
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4-5 inches of wet snow or 15 inches of powdery snow per 1 inch of rain, according to my pal, Google
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