Of greater interest to property owners may be the rise and fall of the water level starting in early March. The level was at the normal winter low of 404.5′ and all gates were open with a flow rate of 450 cfs. With no significant rain or snow predicted and a concern for having the level up to 407.5 by June 1st, the Dam Bureau decided to close some of the south side gates and capture some of the snow melt. North side stop logs remained in winter storage, so at 405′ the water began to flow over the north side dam.

Then our week of warm weather arrived with temperatures in the 70s most days and the snow began to melt and melt and melt. Lake level continued to rise even though all gates were open. By mid-March the lake level reached 407.3′ — almost all from winter snow melt. The weather turned cool but most of the snow was gone.

Water level began to go down at a steady rate of about 1.5″ per day. By noon yesterday (Monday) the level was back to HALF FULL at 405.6′, almost all of the snow is gone and no significant rain or snow in the forecast.

At 11 am Monday the Dam Authority had a crew prepare for summer. The steel stanchions are being lowered into place on top of the concrete spillway, 2 of the 4 strings of stop logs are going in, and 3 of the 5 gates are being shut this morning.   This resulted in the flow rate being reduced from 850 to 455 cfs.

Time to get the driftwood off the beach and finish dock repairs.

I expect we will have an official Ice Out report as of today — Friday 3/23/12. If so this will be the earliest in recorded history.

Water level has been on a constant rise for several weeks with a reported high of 407.28′ (just over summer level) late Thursday evening. Outflow is now three times greater than reported inflow from the Bearcamp. All gates are reported to be open as of Wednesday.

Some rain is predicted for this weekend but clear after that. My neighbor put his dock in last Wednesday. I expect to put ours in next week.

Bob Smart

There is now a 6′ – 8′ ring of water between shore and the ice cap. This should be a safety feature to keep people and vehicles off the ice. One woman and two dogs went into the water on Berry Bay last weekend.

We have had a warm winter and moderate snow. My driveway was plowed only four times. We had a couple of almost complete snowmelts. Most of the snow from last week and the build-up of ice on my driveway is gone. The road frost heaves are flattening out.

I was at the dam at noon yesterday. North side gates are open (but no water flow until the level reaches 405′) and two of the five south side gates are open. Looking at the NH Dam Authority charts on the web, there seem to be some changes in reported lake level and water flow that indicate opening and closing of the dam in the last two weeks.

I contacted the Dam Authority and received a response yesterday that indeed several adjustments had been made in south side dam opening/closing to assure the lake will be back to summer level of 407.5 by June 1st. They are using information on snow pack and water content at the Hemenway State Forest in Tamworth and weather predictions to determine when and how much to adjust the dam.

As for ice-out, we had open water on April 20, 2011 and March 25, 2010 (the earliest ever recorded). The ice was still thick enough to run a few small snowmobiles last week.

Conclusion: The State Dam Authority is watching the weather and snow melt. They are adjusting the dam with the intent of bringing the lake up to summer level by the end of May, and also trying to avoid spring floods when nature does something crazy as it does in most years.

Temperatures down to the single digits at night earlier in the week put some frost in the ground. Based on weather forecasts, no snow, with light rain and temperatures above freezing through Christmas Day.

King Pine has man-made snow in the clubhouse area and expects to produce some coverage in remaining areas by end of the week.

The lake level remains above the plan of 405′ by this time of year because of the heavy rain (about 2″) from 12/6 – 12/9.  Level was down to 407′ before the rain and then went up to a little over 408′ two days later.

No other big news to report from this corner of Freedom Land.

Lake level was down below 406′ by November 30th, and then we had a strong rainstorm that evening. It melted Wednesday’s snow and raised the lake 1.5′ in three days. Plan for this time of year is 405.5′ for December 1st and 404.5′ by end of the month.

Looking back over records of the last few years there has almost always been ice on Broad Bay by this time of the year. Water levels have been:

- The 2008 level was 407.9′ with full ice cover
- The 2009 level was 408.0′ with skin ice (couldn’t  do test bores at the dam until January)
- The 2010 level was 407.8′ with no ice

As for activities in Freedom, holiday decorations are being set up. The month is filling with concerts and other events. We had the first planning meeting for the 2012 Old Home Week in Freedom. Ducky race will be June 30th. Parade and cardboard boat race on August 4th and other events from August 3 – 12.

Work on the Mill Pond firehouse has been completed, and work continues on the Village Road Fire House/Police Station with completion in January.

I am almost ready for my “Long Winter’s Nap”!

The water level was down to 407.25′ on 10/1 and one south-side gate was opened plus a layer of north-side stop logs was removed in anticipation of rain later that week.  The rain came and by 10/4 water level was up to 408.8′ – almost 1.5 ft. in 4 days.

With no rain and a flow equal to all five south-side gates being open, the level came down to summer plan in seven days (10/11). Four days later the level was down to 406.55′ and it looked like we were on schedule for the winter drawdown scheduled to start 10/10.

More rain was predicted for the 14th (and we got it) so all gates were opened and it looks like all stop logs were removed on the 13th. Net result is that lake level went up 1.2 ft. to 407.73′ by last evening in a time span of less than three days.

Prediction is for dry weather until Wednesday, and then more rain for a day – no idea how much. There is no way short of an earthquake to drain more water out of the lake, so we will ride the ups and downs until ______ freezes over in December.

As of Monday evening the official lake level (on the big lake) is 409.25 – 2 ft. over summer level. All indications are for increased elevation during the next day or two. There is a good chance of 410 ft. or higher. Based on flow rates I believe the dam continues to be wide open.

Some history of where the reported level has been:

8/25 – Thursday – 5 p.m. – 407.25′ – normal summer level
8/28 – Sunday – 6 a.m. – 406.3′ – lowest level before the storm (61 hours to bring the level down by using  a managed opening of the dam to avoid navigation problems if the rain did not come as predicted.)
8/29 – Sunday – 1 a.m. – 407.25′ – back to summer level in 19 hours with the dam wide open
8/29 – Sunday – 7 a.m. – 408.25′ – Up one foot in 6 hours
8/29 – Sunday – 9 p.m. – 409.25 – Up another foot in 14 hours

Inflow from the Bearcamp reached 5,421 cfs 8 p.m. on Sunday. This is about as high as I remember in the last ten years. The flow droped to 1,345 Monday evening but is high enough to continue raising the lake.

Looks like the estimate of one foot increase in lake level for each inch of widespread rain is going to hold true for this storm.

At noon yesterday (Thursday) the lake level was 407.2′ and on the way down from a level near 407.5′ two days earlier. One south side gate is open with a value of 250 cfs (cubic feet per second) and almost 3 layers of stop logs are out on the north side. I counted 38 logs chain locked to the catwalk. Discharge over the top on the north side is estimated at 450 cfs noon yesterday.

Later today the four remaining gates will be opened and result in an increased flow of 1,000 cfs. If on Saturday morning the prediction for heavy rain continues, the remaining 1.5 layers of stop logs will be removed. By that time the lake level should be down 6-10 inches below summer level.

Dan will be watching conditions on Saturday and Sunday. If the rain comes, there is nothing more that can be done to prevent a flood. If the rain does not come, some of the boat ramps and shallow places will be dry. If there is little or no rain, Dan will have all gates on the south side closed and then work on replacing the north side stop logs.

The plan is to have the lake level back to 407.25 as soon as possible and hold at that level until the scheduled winter drawdown starts on October 10th.

NOTE:  In previous years it has been observed that one inch of widespread rain can raise the lake level one foot in a day or two.

Ice covers about half of lower Danforth, the Purity Springs lakes and some ponds. Official “Ice Out” for Winnipesaukee was 8:20 am on Tuesday. Last of the ice on North Broad Bay melted late Monday. This is within the normal date range of April 16–26.

Water level in Ossipee hit an early season high of 408.1 on 3/21 then decreased to 406.5′ by early April. It remained below the summer level of 407.25′ until April 11th. But within a four-day period it rose three feet to 410.2′ on the 15th. After a few cool, dry days the level went down to 409.7′ on the 17th and then back up to a high of 410.9′ last Monday morning.

Level is on the way down and may drop to 410′ by Easter Sunday. This would be a good time to take some photos of where the 410′ level intersects your property.

Both sides of the dam have been wide open since last fall so there is no way to increase the outflow rate and no way to control the inflow rate. The only good news is that the frost is out of the ground in most areas so some of the melt water and rain is going into the ground. If the ground had been frozen last week the lake level would have gone over 411′.

April high water is not unusual: On 04/09/09 the level was 410.4′ and remained high most of the summer. On 04/01/10 the level was 411.5′ but returned to the plan level of 407.25′ for the summer.

I expect to have the docks and one boat in by early May.

The level decreased a few inches earlier this week but is on the rise again because of the warm weather and significant snow melt.  There was some rain to the south of us but we had snow.  Ice continues to cover the lake and bays.

The following are some illustrations of how fast the lake level can change: