Waukewan water level challenged

The decision of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) to lower the water level of Lake Waukewan has raised the temperatures of some residents and boaters around the lake, who have formally appealed the decision of the Dam Bureau to the Water Council.

Town Manager Phil Warren told the selectmen last night that he has been flooded with complaints, most of them about the difficulties of using docks, launching boats and avoiding hazards. Some landowners, he said, feared for the value of their waterfront property. And others expressed concerns about the impact of low water on wetlands and marshes.

In April the Dam Bureau released an interim plan for managing water levels on the lake, which calls for maintaining the lake at 539.5 feet above sea level between June 1 and November 1, then lowering it to 538 feet until April 1, when it will be refilled.

The plan is the result of of a lengthy study, two public meetings and an opinion survey. The level of 539.5 feet recommended by DES is six inches lower than the 540 feet, at which the lake has been kept in the summer months for a number of years. However, 540 feet was the summer level preferred by a majority of those who responded to the opinion survey distributed by the Lake Winona Improvement Association and Waukewan Shore Owners Association last fall.

Warren said that recently Jim Weber and Steve Doyon of the Dam Bureau, the architects of the interim plan, met with selectmen Chuck Palm and Nate Torr. Doyon stressed the interim nature of the plan, which the bureau intends to revisit. He assured town officials that as the 2010 recreational season draws to a close, the bureau will solicit public comments on the operating level to assess the effects of the plan on recreation and other public and private interests.

Palm said that he emphasized to Doyon that a public hearing should be held sooner rather than later in order to ensure that seasonal residents would have an opportunity to participate. He told the board that a hearing would likely be scheduled in August.

Meanwhile, Representatives Kate Miller (D-Meredith) and Fran Wendelboe (R-New Hampton) are arranging a public meeting on the level of the lake.

Selectman Peter Brothers applauded their initiative, explaining that while the water level has become an issue for the board, it is appropriate for lawmakers to intervene on behalf of the town with DES. Palm said that any public meeting should be open to officials and residents of the other towns in the Lake Waukewan watershed — New Hampton and Center Harbor — and suggested the meeting be held at Inter-Lakes High School.

"Frankly, I think DES made a mistake," said Selectman Miller Lovett. "They set the level below where it had been for the last 10 or 20 years. It is a horrendous situation people are facing," he said, adding that DES should not wait until August to reconsider its decision.

The Waukewan watershed, which is part of the greater Lake Winnipesaukee watershed, stretches over 13 square miles and consists of two lakes — Waukewan and Winona — joined by the Snake River and three ponds — Hawkins, Bear and Otter. Lake Winona covers 154 acres and Lake Waukewan 953 acres. Both lakes have a mean depth of about 22 feet. The shorelines of Lake Waukewan and Lake Winona measure 8.1-miles and 3.1-miles respectively and both are largely developed.

The dam at the Inn at Mill Falls has controlled water levels throughout the watershed since the early 19th century. Water flows from an inlet at the southeast corner of Lake Waukewan into a canal lined by stone, then through a penstock to the surge tower before spilling into the flume and passing to Lake Winnipesaukee. The crest of the spillway was lowered 18 inches in 1975 when a hydro unit, along with a penstock and gate leading to it, were removed and another six inches in 1982 when the penstock was repaired. The modifications to the dam ensured that its discharge capacity remained unchanged. With all the flashboards removed, the water level will drop a half-an-inch a day.

Since 1983, when Rusty McLear and his partners purchased what became the Inn at Mill Falls, they also acquired the canal, penstock and dam, along with the task of operating it. Speaking in September 2009, McLear explained that for nearly 10 years he has operated the dam on instructions from the town, which in turn sought to strike a balance between boaters complaining the lake was too low and shorefront landowners complaining that it was too high. He said that 540 feet had represented a "compromise."