Lake level and markers

[Rob]

Excellent post Outlaw-

I seem to remember that in 1984 the lake was also at an unusually high level.

From the previously posted link:

Lake drawdowns are conducted each fall to reduce winter ice damage to shoreline properties and to reduce spring flooding. Drawdowns also give property owners an opportunity to conduct any necessary repairs to their waterfront property

http://www.des.state.nh.us/press/press090704.htm

The flow of 30 to 50 cfs is the minimum flow needed to maintain the downstream aquatic life during this period.

Another reason for lowering the lake in the fall is to prevent the spring snowmelt runoff from overwhelming the rivers downstream. (Winnipesaukee River>Pemigewassett>Merrimack, if I remember correctly) These rivers would otherwise flood and erode their banks, removing nutrients from the land, and adding them to the river, which causes problems for the wildlife living in the river. Much of the dirt settles back to the bottom when the river widens out, which then requires dredging of river bottoms to keep the channels open. Dredging is very controversial, as there are associated environmental problems.

It's hard to predict in advance how much water to release. Personally, I think that they (the NH DES) do a pretty good job of managing the lake level.

Rob