mcdude
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 State Announces Fall Drawdown of Suncook Lakes and River
State announces schedule for fall lake drawdowns
September 07, 2006
CONCORD — The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) announced that the annual fall drawdown of the lakes and ponds controlled by dams operated by DES will be initiated during the next few months according to the schedule below.
The depth of drawdown listed below is not from the current level, but is from the normal full pond level. Since the hydrologic conditions and recreational uses of these water bodies vary, the degree and date of the start of drawdown for each lake is varied and could be affected by the amount of rainfall during the period. In addition, the actual date at which the drawdown will begin could vary by a few days based on operational constraints.
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, provided they first secure a permit from the DES Wetlands Bureau at 271-2147.
Barnstead Parade, Suncook River, Barnstead, Sept. 6, 10 feet from full;
Suncook Lakes, Suncook River, Alton, seven feet from full.
Generally, lake levels are allowed to return to the normal full pond level in the spring. The special drawdowns to be conducted this year include a 10-foot drawdown of Barnstead Parade in Barnstead, to be conducted in cooperation with the Barnstead Milfoil Committee. The drawdown will begin on Sept. 6 and the lake will be lowered in two-foot intervals over a three-week period to enable the BMC to collect data needed to design a treatment program for variable water milfoil that BMC proposes to implement next spring.
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 is provided on DES's website at 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.
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9/8/2006, 8:21 am
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mcdude
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Re: State Announces Fall Drawdown of Suncook Lakes and River
quote:
Earlier this month, the state began drawing down Barnstead Parade on the Suncook River in Barnstead.
Additional drawdowns are planned to begin on Oct. 1 for the Suncook Lakes in Barnstead; on Oct. 9 for Crystal Lake in Gilmanton; Newfound Lake, Bristol; Sawyer Lake, Gilmanton; Shellcamp Pond, Gilmanton; Squam Lake, Ashland; and Webster Lake, Franklin.
Sunset Lake in Alton will be drawn down on Oct. 16 and Lake Kanasatka in Moultonborough on Nov. 1.
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9/22/2006, 9:13 am
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