Lake Draw down

20mile · 09-22-2007, 09:46 AM

I heard a rumor that they are going to draw the lake down 5-15 feet in October to allow for crib dock repairs, water lines and other dock repairs. I have never seen this happen before. Is this just an exaggerated story or is there truth to it?

Lakegeezer · 09-22-2007, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 20mile

I heard a rumor that they are going to draw the lake down 5-15 feet in October to allow for crib dock repairs, water lines and other dock repairs. I have never seen this happen before. Is this just an exaggerated story or is there truth to it?

Check out http://www.des.state.nh.us/press/arc...ss09042007.htm It is the state's 2007 drawdown press release from early September. They don't list Winnipesaukee, but discuss how it will likely end up 2' below full lake level.

newbie · 09-23-2007, 05:57 PM

....Not included in this schedule is Lake Winnipesaukee. Unlike the other lakes in this schedule, Lake Winnipesaukee is not purposely drawn down in the fall. Instead, each year on Columbus Day, the releases from Lakeport Dam are reduced from a normal minimum of 250 cubic feet per second (cfs) to a flow between 30 and 50 cfs for a period of up to two weeks to allow for maintenance of the dams and hydropower facilities on the Winnipesaukee River. The flow of 30 to 50 cfs is the minimum flow needed to maintain the downstream aquatic life during this period.

By the middle of the fall, Lake Winnipesaukee is, on average, 15 inches below its springtime full level due to evaporation and releases from the lake that have occurred over the course of the summer. As a result of the reduction in the amount of water released from the dam after Columbus Day, the lake level does not drop for the remainder of the month of October and is generally maintained at this level through the month of December. Depending on the amount of snow on the ground in the winter, the lake level may be lowered further beginning in January to a depth of two feet below the normal full level.

A plot of the average lake levels throughout the year for Lake Winnipesaukee is provided on DES’s website at http://www.des.state.nh.us/dam/graph.htm. Also included are updated plots of this year’s lake levels, releases from the dam, and precipitation.

Rattlesnake Guy · 09-23-2007, 10:01 PM

Gal and I were at the Belknap Mill on Saturday. (A very interesting piece of history in Laconia) We noticed that the water was barely flowing past the mill. We went up up to the Lakeport dam and as you would expect, it was barley moving as well. Most of what was happening seemed to be going through the turbine building.

Rattlesnake Gal · 09-24-2007, 10:06 AM

Sorry I didn't get the shot of it flowing from the power plant.

Sal · 09-24-2007, 11:46 AM

I noticed on the lake level site, that the level dropped 6 " and then returned to where it was, within an hour or so (http://www.des.state.nh.us/rti_inter...+Winnipesaukee)

How the heck did THAT happen?

chipj29 · 09-24-2007, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sal

I noticed on the lake level site, that the level dropped 6 " and then returned to where it was, within an hour or so (http://www.des.state.nh.us/rti_inter...+Winnipesaukee)

How the heck did THAT happen?

There was some discussion about that in this thread, starting around post #36.
http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...ead.php?t=5117

HomeWood · 09-24-2007, 05:04 PM

How do you think the level will be next week? 1st to the 7th?

Weirs guy · 09-25-2007, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeWood

How do you think the level will be next week? 1st to the 7th?

Leave your boat on the trailor and drive it around where you want to fish. No, really. Its that low.

HomeWood · 09-29-2007, 02:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weirs guy

Leave your boat on the trailor and drive it around where you want to fish. No, really. Its that low.

C'mon?? Can't be that bad.

This'nThat · 09-29-2007, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeWood

C'mon?? Can't be that bad.

According to this, the lake is 1.5 feet below full, as of 28 September. This is not a record low; however, it is 1 standard deviation below average for this time of the year. That means that this level is reached once every 6 years or so, or about 3 times over the last 20 years.

Irish mist · 09-29-2007, 07:59 PM

We need some soaking rain.......soon. Too dry out there.
________
VAPORIZER REVIEW

HomeWood · 09-30-2007, 02:58 AM

I went boating here a month ago and the lake was down about 4.5 feet, about 5.5 now and it was fine for my type of boat. 1.5 feet below normal is fine with me. I can float in one foot with the trim up. Thanks for the tip. I'll be up tomorrow.

Weirs guy · 10-01-2007, 12:13 PM

OK, you don't need a trailor, just a shovel to get thru the channel. The mooring at the end of our beach is usually 2 foot over my head, but today if you'd like I can walk out and hand it to you at about chin depth.

SIKSUKR · 10-01-2007, 12:59 PM

I checked the lake level on the channel bridge Wed the 26th and it was exactly 18 inches down from full lake.

macshpman · 10-17-2007, 10:03 PM

Wondering what the lake level currently is at this time. Been holding off on the winterization and hoping to boat one last time before the end of the month.

09-22-2007, 09:46 AM	#1
20mile Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: 20 mile bay Posts: 87 Thanks: 0 Thanked 15 Times in 12 Posts	Lake Draw down I heard a rumor that they are going to draw the lake down 5-15 feet in October to allow for crib dock repairs, water lines and other dock repairs. I have never seen this happen before. Is this just an exaggerated story or is there truth to it?

09-24-2007, 10:06 AM	#5
Rattlesnake Gal Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Central NH Posts: 5,253 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 1,455 Thanked 1,357 Times in 476 Posts	Flowing at a Trickle - Thankfully Sorry I didn't get the shot of it flowing from the power plant.

09-24-2007, 11:46 AM	#6
Sal Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 311 Thanks: 103 Thanked 169 Times in 53 Posts	big dip in the level I noticed on the lake level site, that the level dropped 6 " and then returned to where it was, within an hour or so (http://www.des.state.nh.us/rti_inter...+Winnipesaukee) How the heck did THAT happen?

09-29-2007, 07:59 PM	#12
Irish mist Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 686 Thanks: 128 Thanked 85 Times in 49 Posts	We need some soaking rain.......soon. Too dry out there. ________ VAPORIZER REVIEW Last edited by Irish mist; 02-27-2011 at 10:59 PM.

10-01-2007, 12:13 PM	#14
Weirs guy Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Weirs Beach, NH Posts: 1,067 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	OK, you don't need a trailor, just a shovel to get thru the channel. The mooring at the end of our beach is usually 2 foot over my head, but today if you'd like I can walk out and hand it to you at about chin depth. __________________ Is it bikeweek yet? Now?

09-23-2007, 05:57 PM	#3
newbie Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Just North of Boston Posts: 111 Thanks: 61 Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts	Here is the Winni section ....Not included in this schedule is Lake Winnipesaukee. Unlike the other lakes in this schedule, Lake Winnipesaukee is not purposely drawn down in the fall. Instead, each year on Columbus Day, the releases from Lakeport Dam are reduced from a normal minimum of 250 cubic feet per second (cfs) to a flow between 30 and 50 cfs for a period of up to two weeks to allow for maintenance of the dams and hydropower facilities on the Winnipesaukee River. The flow of 30 to 50 cfs is the minimum flow needed to maintain the downstream aquatic life during this period. By the middle of the fall, Lake Winnipesaukee is, on average, 15 inches below its springtime full level due to evaporation and releases from the lake that have occurred over the course of the summer. As a result of the reduction in the amount of water released from the dam after Columbus Day, the lake level does not drop for the remainder of the month of October and is generally maintained at this level through the month of December. Depending on the amount of snow on the ground in the winter, the lake level may be lowered further beginning in January to a depth of two feet below the normal full level. A plot of the average lake levels throughout the year for Lake Winnipesaukee is provided on DES’s website at http://www.des.state.nh.us/dam/graph.htm. Also included are updated plots of this year’s lake levels, releases from the dam, and precipitation.

09-23-2007, 10:01 PM	#4
Rattlesnake Guy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 1,254 Thanks: 423 Thanked 366 Times in 175 Posts	Gal and I were at the Belknap Mill on Saturday. (A very interesting piece of history in Laconia) We noticed that the water was barely flowing past the mill. We went up up to the Lakeport dam and as you would expect, it was barley moving as well. Most of what was happening seemed to be going through the turbine building.

09-24-2007, 05:04 PM	#8
HomeWood Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Clayton,NC / Sanbornton,NH Posts: 611 Thanks: 126 Thanked 137 Times in 75 Posts	How do you think the level will be next week? 1st to the 7th?

09-30-2007, 02:58 AM	#13
HomeWood Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Clayton,NC / Sanbornton,NH Posts: 611 Thanks: 126 Thanked 137 Times in 75 Posts	I went boating here a month ago and the lake was down about 4.5 feet, about 5.5 now and it was fine for my type of boat. 1.5 feet below normal is fine with me. I can float in one foot with the trim up. Thanks for the tip. I'll be up tomorrow.

10-01-2007, 12:59 PM	#15
SIKSUKR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 5,075 Thanks: 215 Thanked 903 Times in 509 Posts	I checked the lake level on the channel bridge Wed the 26th and it was exactly 18 inches down from full lake. __________________ SIKSUKR

10-17-2007, 10:03 PM	#16
macshpman Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Southern NH Posts: 32 Thanks: 3 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Starting to have withdrawals Wondering what the lake level currently is at this time. Been holding off on the winterization and hoping to boat one last time before the end of the month.