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Descant · 01-13-2017, 01:28 PM

I'm not sure what we mean here with the word "flooding". An inch up or down is about 1 billion gallons, right, maybe 1.5b, I'll do the math later. That's a lot of water to go over or not go over the dam. Remember, this isn't just where the rocks are here, but Winnii is the source and the flood control for miles or downstream rivers.

I'd like to see "full" as a goal for August first instead of what appears to be the goal for the first week of June. That would leave a little more in the lake for the usual August evaporation and reserves to keep everything navigable through Columbus Day.

Anyway, I'm good for an inch or two above full and not calling it flooding, maybe just "overfull". Six inches above full certainly can be problematic and more than that, with wind/waves can really cause significant damage.

I was at a DES Dam Bureau presentation last week, and they showed a scenario where they were looking at a possible 4 foot rise in water level on Ossipee Lake during Hurricane Katrina (2005). The rain from Katrina didn't hit that line of travel and it didn't happen, but it seems possible.

01-13-2017, 01:28 PM	#15
Descant Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Merrimack and Welch Island Posts: 4,337 Thanks: 1,339 Thanked 1,620 Times in 1,052 Posts	Flooding? I'm not sure what we mean here with the word "flooding". An inch up or down is about 1 billion gallons, right, maybe 1.5b, I'll do the math later. That's a lot of water to go over or not go over the dam. Remember, this isn't just where the rocks are here, but Winnii is the source and the flood control for miles or downstream rivers. I'd like to see "full" as a goal for August first instead of what appears to be the goal for the first week of June. That would leave a little more in the lake for the usual August evaporation and reserves to keep everything navigable through Columbus Day. Anyway, I'm good for an inch or two above full and not calling it flooding, maybe just "overfull". Six inches above full certainly can be problematic and more than that, with wind/waves can really cause significant damage. I was at a DES Dam Bureau presentation last week, and they showed a scenario where they were looking at a possible 4 foot rise in water level on Ossipee Lake during Hurricane Katrina (2005). The rain from Katrina didn't hit that line of travel and it didn't happen, but it seems possible.