Update on Water Levels
We are all aware that the water levels in Norton Pond and Lake Megunticook are low. Many of you have expressed concerns about getting docks and boats out of the water due to the low levels at Bog Bridge and shared your opinions about how the dam is managed. We'd like to do our best in answering your concerns here with some factual data that hopefully you'll find helpful.
RAINFALL
Currently the Megunticook Watershed is in a moderate drought. The low water levels we are seeing are a result of a lack of rainfall in late summer and fall. While it's easy to think that these levels have never been this low, they have in fact been this low before. Just for fun, we looked back in the archives and found a great article in the Camden Herald from 23 years ago by Ken Bailey called Megunticook Lake Has Seen Lower Days (November 15, 2001). And while we are in a drought, the actual rainfall is just above normal mostly because of the rain we got in the spring. The graphs here show the trend.
EAST DAM
As many of you know, East Dam is owned by the town of Camden and is operated by the Town according to state and local guidelines. The general goal is to open it to let water out in advance of any significant storm to avoid flooding and to close it down to minimum flow (required by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, DEP) when no weather events are predicted. There is never an option to close the dam completely. The DEP will not allow this as it would have a catastrophic impact on the ecological health of the Megunticook River. Lake levels are lowered in advance of major storms because the East and West Dam spillways and gates are not designed to release enough water to match the inflow of runoff into the lake caused by a major storm – water flows into the lake at a much higher rate than water can flow out of the lake, so lake levels rise during major storms, often by several feet. If a predicted major storm does not hit the watershed, lake levels remain low until runoff from subsequent rainfall events can build the lake levels back up.
This year, the dam was opened in preparation for July's Tropical Storm Beryl to avoid the massive flooding that took place last year. However the hurricane did not materialize in Knox County and therefore the dam was closed back to minimum flow. It has remained at that flow since then. The graphs here, using data taken from our water level logger at the East Dam, demonstrate this.
It's important to remember that managing flow on the dam is tricky business. In anticipation for major rainfall, it can take up to two weeks to get the lake levels down to a reasonable level to avoid flooding. And flooding in the end causes major damage, whereas low water levels on the lake and pond are more of an inconvenience.
MWA is in the early stages of a collaboration with the Town of Camden to help advise on the updating of the 2009 Dam Operations Guidelines. We hope to be able to contribute to revisions as needed.
WATER LEVEL MONITORING
MWA has three water level loggers on the Megunticook River: one at Seabright Dam, one at Montgomery Dam, and one at East Dam. These upload automatically so at any time we can see the levels. Sadly, the East Dam logger was vandalized, and the cable was cut on October 6. We are in the process of repairing that. You can view the real-time water level data on our website at anytime.
We are also working on adding a webcam with live feed so the East Dam can be monitored, especially in storm events. This will help with watching conditions at that location in real time.
BOATS, FLOATS, AND DOCKS
We've talked with Lake City Floats and understand that they have been successful in working with the Town of Camden and with some private property owners to locate possible alternative places with deeper water to haul and store docks this year. They have corralled many of them at Bog Bridge for now. The Bog Bridge boat ramp is very shallow and unusable except for paddle craft.
Route 52 appears to still have enough water for some limited boat launching and hauling, though the docks have been removed. Norton Pond boat launch has very little water so can most likely only accommodate paddle craft.
WHAT THIS ALL MEANS
As we've seen from past records, this low water level scenario may not be the last of its kind. With the climate changing we can expect to be see wider fluctuations and more extremes in weather events. That means that from year to year, it may be prudent to pull docks and floats earlier than we might like to, even though it still feels like summer in October. Or we may have to find alternate hauling and storage locations. MWA is committed to collecting and analyzing data that could be helpful in decision-making and planning, as well as working with the Town of Camden on the continued improvement of dam operations and maintenance. There is still a lot to learn but one thing is clear: we are probably going to have to adapt in some way to the changes ahead. Rest assured, we're here to help navigate and steward the future of our watershed with you.
