Commissioners assess risk of investing in Silver Lake dam study

Spending half a million-plus dollars to help pay for a study on the need for a dam at the outlet of Silver Lake is not without risk. But is it a risk worth taking?

The question arose at Monday’s Belknap County Commission meeting when the board chair of the Silver Lake Association asked commissioners how the county would dispense the money to the state, which would oversee the study.

The $530,000 the county has agreed to allocate toward the study comes from the $11.9 million in federal funds the county has received through the American Rescue Plan economic stimulus bill.

The expenditure of the funds were approved last month by the county delegation, based on the commission’s recommendation.

The study is expected to reaffirm the conclusion of a previous study that a dam needs to be constructed downstream from the 200-acre lake. Silver Lake is the southernmost of the chain of water bodies, beginning at Lake Winnipesaukee and threaded by Winnipesaukee River, that forms the Winnipesaukee watershed.

The big question is whether the state will spend the money to build the dam and perform the associated dredging of the channel, the cost of which has been estimated at between $5 million and $6 million.

County Commission Chair Peter Spanos said that when he, along with state Sen. Bob Giuda and others, met with DES officials earlier this year, they were told that right now the dam project “is dead in the water.” But if a new study is done, DES officials at that meeting said the chances of getting the dam built would improve to about 30%.

Hearing those low odds caused Commissioner Hunter Taylor to turn his head suddenly toward Spanos in amazement.

“I’m concerned about gambling with this money,” Taylor said.

Spanos responded that he shared Taylor’s concerns, but he believed that with the new study, the chances of getting the dam built would be 50% or better.

“If the study shows, as I expect it will, that the dam will improve the Silver Lake watershed, there will be legislative impetus to get this [dam project] accomplished,” Spanos said.

The chair said he envisioned the entire county delegation throwing their support behind the project, as well as Executive Councilor Joe Kenney and others on the council. In addition, Spanos said he has a good relationship with the governor’s office, which he saw as beneficial.

“I think this project is very, very much needed,” Taylor said. “But unless I’m convinced that [the new dam is] going to happen, I don’t want us gambling with this money.”

“I understand your consternation,” Spanos said to Taylor. “But we did note there was a risk going into this when we budgeted the money. But I think it’s a risk worth taking.”

Spanos believes the construction of the dam will result in better water management, not just in Silver Lake itself but in the entire Lake Winnipesaukee watershed.

Silver Lake, being at the tail end of the chain of lakes and having no dam to control the discharge of water at its outlet, is prone to fluctuating water levels which result in recurring flooding of shoreline properties.

“The problem is that we don’t have the ability to push enough water down the Winnipesaukee River,” explained Pauline Tessier, chair of the Silver Lake Association Board of Directors.

Water flowing into the lake is controlled by the dam in Lochmere, which regulates the discharge of water coming out of Lake Winnisquam. There is no dam at the end of the lake where it feeds into the Winnipesaukee River, and the flat, marshy expanse farther downstream where the Tioga River empties into the Winnipesaukee River acts to slow the movement of runoff. This results in increasing the water level in Silver Lake, causing flooding of shorefront properties in both Belmont and Tilton.

The most recent study, completed in 1985 by the Army Corps of Engineers, concluded that a dam, along with significant dredging of the Winnipesaukee River, was needed in order to correct the problem.

The dredging is necessary to remove the buildup of silt that restricts how fast the water can move in the river downstream from Silver Lake.

When the flow of water in the river was increased in June for a weekend event in Franklin, which included whitewater paddling, the level of Silver Lake rose 19.3 inches, Tessier said.

Those living along the lake were notified Friday that the water level will be going up 7 to 8 inches per day this coming Monday through Wednesday to accommodate the annual fall drawdown of Lakes Opechee and Winnisquam.

"This means that our lake will rise about 2 feet," Tessier said. "People will have a chance to move things on their beaches back to accommodate this rise in water level and be sure their boats are tied securely."

The Silver Lake Association was formed in 1990 and is made up of people who own property on or close to the lake. The voluntary organization now counts 174 members. About 100 of those members have joined in just the past two years.

Tessier attributes that increase in membership to the organization becoming more active, including lobbying lawmakers and other government officials to support the construction of the dam.

“We are going to fight for this,” Tessier said Friday. “It will be years, but we will be persistent.”

Spanos believes this time there is the political will to get the project funded and built.

“I’m seeing the glass as half full,” he said. “It’s not a total slam dunk, but I think it’s a goal worth pursuing.”