CONCORD — The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) announced today that the annual fall drawdown of the lakes and ponds controlled by dams owned by NHDES will be initiated according to the schedule below.
LAKE
RIVER
TOWN
START
DATE
DEPTH
(in feet)
FROM FULL
East Washington Pond
Beards Brook
Washington
Oct. 15
2’
Little Sunapee Lake1
Kidder Brook
New London
Oct. 15
2’
Mascoma Lake2
Mascoma River
Lebanon
Oct. 15
3’
Sunapee Lake2
Sugar River
Sunapee
Oct. 15
2.5’
Little Sunapee lake will have its once every five year scheduled deeper drawdown.
These larger lakes generally do not reach their full drawdowns until mid or late March. The values listed above are generally the maximum levels reached, although during any given year the levels reached can be either higher or lower due to weather conditions.
The depth of drawdown listed above is not from the current level, but is from the normal full pond level. Due to changing ice and hydrologic conditions, these levels can vary throughout the winter. Since the hydrologic conditions and recreational uses of these water bodies vary, the degree and date of the start of drawdown for each lake vary 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. However, at three dams, the drawdowns will be initiated or accelerated on a specific Saturday in October to provide recreational opportunities for canoeists and kayakers in the rivers below these dams. The schedule for these recreational opportunities is as follows:
Note: As a general rule most of the drawdowns start on Columbus Day. With Columbus Day being early in the month this year, NHDES has moved most of the normal drawdowns a week out to the 15th of the month.
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 NHDES Wetlands Bureau at (603) 271-2147.
Generally, lake levels are allowed to return to the normal full pond level in the spring.
The NH Fish and Game Department recommends that if special drawdowns are to be conducted for the purposes of repairing property such as retaining walls or private boat ramps they occur only once in every 5 years. In the event a party may wish to conduct such a drawdown, please contact the NHDES Dam Bureau immediately after receiving all permits required for such work, so that the drawdown can be coordinated with any other work at the same water body being proposed by other parties. In this way the number of special drawdowns can be limited, and unexpected delays (up to 5 years) for your project can be avoided.
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