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Old 06-02-2013, 08:38 AM   #1
Tired of Waiting
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Default How about LOW water?

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Originally Posted by Peck View Post
Can anyone tell me who is in control of the Dam in Lake Port? And why is it closed with the lake so over full?
I don't understand why they keep it high in the spring so alot of boaters can not get on the lake and they drop it so early in September and drive boaters of the lake when there is another good month of boating.
Send some of that water over to the Ossipee's next year. This is what the water level looked like this year at the end of April and the first week of May.

I couldn't park my boat at the dock without the bow resting on the bottom. That deck is 30 ++ feet long from the shore line to the end.

ToW

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Old 06-02-2013, 09:22 PM   #2
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Default

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Originally Posted by Tired of Waiting View Post
Send some of that water over to the Ossipee's next year. This is what the water level looked like this year at the end of April and the first week of May.

I couldn't park my boat at the dock without the bow resting on the bottom. That deck is 30 ++ feet long from the shore line to the end.

ToW

Why is the lake so low?
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Old 06-03-2013, 09:25 AM   #3
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Default Because

The town turned the dam control over to the "Main Power Co." who has a generator on the dam. Or so I've been told. They don't know how to control the water level yet.

Once the marina's had to stop putting customer boats in due to low water they finally closed the gates down. They closed them so far that the Ossipee river was but a trickle from normal flow.

It took about two weeks to get the level up. About a week before you could navigate the No-Wake zones with motor down.

While I was there the "channel" at spindle point, and I mean "mid Channel" only had 1-1/2 feet of water. I had to run it with my engine up to the point that the prop was almost out of the water..

ToW
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Old 06-03-2013, 09:46 AM   #4
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Default ??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tired of Waiting View Post
The town turned the dam control over to the "Main Power Co." who has a generator on the dam. Or so I've been told. They don't know how to control the water level yet.

Once the marina's had to stop putting customer boats in due to low water they finally closed the gates down. They closed them so far that the Ossipee river was but a trickle from normal flow.

It took about two weeks to get the level up. About a week before you could navigate the No-Wake zones with motor down.

While I was there the "channel" at spindle point, and I mean "mid Channel" only had 1-1/2 feet of water. I had to run it with my engine up to the point that the prop was almost out of the water..

ToW
When was that??
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Old 06-03-2013, 10:02 AM   #5
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Default Last Year??

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When was that??
As I stated in the post "I was told" the dam control was turned over. However it was from a marina so I do put a little credibility in it. They say it was turned over a year ago.

That's all I know but will check it out some more..

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Old 06-03-2013, 10:12 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by Tired of Waiting View Post
As I stated in the post "I was told" the dam control was turned over. However it was from a marina so I do put a little credibility in it. They say it was turned over a year ago.

That's all I know but will check it out some more..

ToW
Sorry for the confusion, what I meant was, when was the water that low in the Spindle point channel??

Thanks;

Dan
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Old 06-03-2013, 03:51 PM   #7
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Default No problem

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Originally Posted by ishoot308 View Post
Sorry for the confusion, what I meant was, when was the water that low in the Spindle point channel??

Thanks;

Dan
The picture I posted was taken on 4/29/2013 so It must have been a day or so before that to that day. I took the picture on our way back from the main lake where we were fishing.

The first set of channel markers in Broad Bay heading towards the main lake is where it was so low.

We have a new neighbor who bought a brand new Toon with a Merc 115 on it. I told them if they go out to be VERY careful due to the low water. I guess he wasn't because on his maiden voyage he took 1-1/2 inches off all three blades on his prop. And yes it happened at Spindle Point.

ToW
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Old 06-03-2013, 04:22 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Tired of Waiting View Post
The picture I posted was taken on 4/29/2013 so It must have been a day or so before that to that day. I took the picture on our way back from the main lake where we were fishing.

The first set of channel markers in Broad Bay heading towards the main lake is where it was so low.

We have a new neighbor who bought a brand new Toon with a Merc 115 on it. I told them if they go out to be VERY careful due to the low water. I guess he wasn't because on his maiden voyage he took 1-1/2 inches off all three blades on his prop. And yes it happened at Spindle Point.

ToW
Sorry TOW, sometimes I'm a little slow ...your talking Ossipee Lake not Winni!!

When you said "Spindle Point" I immediately thought Winni and I was trying to think how the heck the water could be low at Spindle Point and not at Welch Island!! Anyway, when you mentioned Broad Bay the light came on! I also should of re-read your initial post where you mentioned the Ossipee's!

It must be time for my nap!

Thanks!

Dan
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Old 06-03-2013, 05:10 PM   #9
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tired of Waiting View Post
The town turned the dam control over to the "Main Power Co." who has a generator on the dam. Or so I've been told. They don't know how to control the water level yet.

Once the marina's had to stop putting customer boats in due to low water they finally closed the gates down. They closed them so far that the Ossipee river was but a trickle from normal flow.

It took about two weeks to get the level up. About a week before you could navigate the No-Wake zones with motor down.

While I was there the "channel" at spindle point, and I mean "mid Channel" only had 1-1/2 feet of water. I had to run it with my engine up to the point that the prop was almost out of the water..

ToW
The State of NH acquired the Dam from Central Maine Power in 1992, and the DES operates the Dam with assistance from the Ossipee Lake Authority.
There has been a lot of controversy about the height of the water at different times of the year.
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Old 06-03-2013, 09:06 PM   #10
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Default Not that big a deal

The original post complains the Lakeport dam is closed but this link http://www2.des.state.nh.us/RTi_Home...E=Lakeport+Dam shows the dam output has been regularly raised since May 26 and is currently over 1400 CFS which, I believe, means the flood gates have been opened to some extent. The lake is nowhere near being flooded, just a couple inches over "full" after some heavy downpours yesterday. If they keep pouring out the water at this rate it will drop the lake about an inch a day (I believe). At that rate the lake should be down to "full" level in a 3 to 5 days. That's hardly a big deal.
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Old 06-03-2013, 09:16 PM   #11
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Default Flooding at the marinas before the dam.

The weekend before, my slip was underwater. Last weekend it was fine. The dam operators do a good job at keeping the water under control.

The last time I saw my slip underwater was the Mother's Day flood of 2006. The slip was underwater for almost a month. I believe that was the time Silver Lake in Lochmere experience heavy flooding. It is a fine line to balance the flow between Lake Winnipesaukee and the Lakes down river.
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Old 06-03-2013, 09:20 PM   #12
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Default From Bizer's site

The flow is the amount of water leaving Lake Winnipesaukee at the Lakeport Dam. It is measured in cubic feet per second (CFS). To put this in perspective, 1920 CFS is enough to fill about 45 swimming pools each minute. For a period of 24 hours, 1920 CFS yields 1.24 billion gallons, or enough water to lower the level of Lake Winnipesaukee one inch. The flow fluctuates depending on the time of year and the lake's height. The long-term average is about 550 CFS.

So 1400 is not quite an inch drawdown per day. Of course there is additional run off after a big rain storm and the normal inflow sources that need to be balanced. However, at this rate it will come down in less than a week. And again, the dam is being actively managed and NOT "closed".
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Old 06-05-2013, 08:16 AM   #13
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Default Thanks rusty

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty View Post
The State of NH acquired the Dam from Central Maine Power in 1992, and the DES operates the Dam with assistance from the Ossipee Lake Authority.
There has been a lot of controversy about the height of the water at different times of the year.
I trusted the word of the marina person. I should have done more investagation before I posted about who operated/owned the dam.

I'm not local so I have to trust those who are. Me bad.

In any case the water was WAY to low for the time of year.

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