does anyone have the date the lake will be lowered this year?

[Newcomers]

Thank you!

[Sue Doe-Nym]

It is already underway....down quite a bit.

[brk-lnt]

They only lower the lake on odd-numbered leap years. The rest of the time the outflow is just managed as always.

[Wifi-1]

Originally Posted by brk-lnt

They only lower the lake on odd-numbered leap years. The rest of the time the outflow is just managed as always.

Nice one !! LMAO

[Descant]

Originally Posted by Wifi-1

Nice one !! LMAO

Yeah. We really need a LMAO or ROFLMAO button. "Thanks" just isn't emphatic enough.

[XCR-700]

They don't really lower the level of the lake, it goes down in the fall when the boats are removed due to the reduction weight & displacement exerted on the surface of the water as follows:

Boat

The mass of the boat of M.

Water

The density of water is ρw.

Archimedes' principle tells us that the volume of water displaced is:

Vdisp=M/ρw

i.e. more water is displaced when the lake is full of boats, so the water level falls when you remove the boats at the end of the season.

So you see the lake lowering is a myth perpetrated on novice boaters to get them out of the lake earlier so that the rest of us can enjoy a few quiet weeks at the end of the season. Sorry to let the cat out of the bag,,,

Sorry I also barely passed calculus so best you don't rely on me for anything math,,,

[8gv]

I thought my dog was going to drink it all but she left some lake for you to enjoy.

[XCR-700]

Originally Posted by 8gv

I thought my dog was going to drink it all but she left some lake for you to enjoy.

No worries, dogs are very responsible animals, that usually return most of the water they drink to the aquifer, thought it tends to have a bit of a yellow tinge to it once they are done with it

Once it drains through the soil it all balances out, and it helps to give any sand it passes through a nice natural amber coloring

[upthesaukee]

I love humor, but I'm sure Newcomers question was serious.

Unlike a lot of other lakes, Winnipesaukee is not "drawn down" per se. The outflow from the Big Lake goes through the various lakes to the Winnipesaukee River and then to its confluence with the Pemigewasset River to form the Merrimack River. The controlling of the outflow is a delicate balance between ensuring adequate levels to provide for the spring runoff in the vast Winnipesaukee watershed while providing an adequate flow for dams and power stations downstream. It's a delicate balance to say the least. As others have said, it will likely go down to about 1.5 ft below full lake.

That being said, be careful anchoring so as to avoid snagging the large rubber stopper on the lake bottom. The results there could be catastrophic.

Dave

[Phantom]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

That being said, be careful anchoring so as to avoid snagging the large rubber stopper on the lake bottom. The results there could be catastrophic.

Dave

SO THAT's what it was !!

My wife thought she had pulled up a tire

[Descant]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

I love humor, but I'm sure Newcomers question was serious.

Unlike a lot of other lakes, Winnipesaukee is not "drawn down" per se. The outflow from the Big Lake goes through the various lakes to the Winnipesaukee River and then to its confluence with the Pemigewasset River to form the Merrimack River. The controlling of the outflow is a delicate balance between ensuring adequate levels to provide for the spring runoff in the vast Winnipesaukee watershed while providing an adequate flow for dams and power stations downstream. It's a delicate balance to say the least. As others have said, it will likely go down to about 1.5 ft below full lake.

That being said, be careful anchoring so as to avoid snagging the large rubber stopper on the lake bottom. The results there could be catastrophic.

Dave

I have to question your first statement. Newcomer has been a member of the Forum for 12 years.

Second, I believe the stopper was installed as a WPA project to allow draw down/bypass for repairs to the Lakeport dam. I recall signs near the Laconia Water Works saying no anchoring, no swimming in the area of their intake. As part of the Winnipesaukee River Basin sewer project in the 60's, the stopper was replaced with anti-backflow mechanicals so the wasrewater treatment facility in Franklin would not backflow effluent into Paugus Bay. Nowadays that system in Laconia is all maintained under the federal MS4 program (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System). https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/...mwater/ms4.htm

[Bizer]

They don't "draw it down". They do reduce the flow to Opechee which usually causes the level to rise slightly in the latter half of October. From the DES website

Not included in this schedule is Lake Winnipesaukee. Unlike the other lakes in this schedule, Lake Winnipesaukee is not purposely drawn down in the fall. Instead, in the fall after Columbus Day, the releases from Lakeport Dam are reduced from a normal minimum of 250 cubic feet per second (cfs) to a flow between 30 and 50 cfs for a period of up to two weeks to allow for maintenance of the dams and hydropower facilities on the Winnipesaukee River. The flow of 30 to 50 cfs is the minimum flow needed to maintain the downstream aquatic life during this period. This year the reduction will begin on October 14th.

By the middle of the fall, Lake Winnipesaukee is, on average, 15 inches below its springtime full level due to evaporation and releases from the lake that have occurred over the course of the summer. As a result of the reduction in the amount of water released from the dam after Columbus Day, the lake level does not drop for the remainder of the month of October and is generally maintained at this level through the month of December. Depending on the amount of snow on the ground in the winter, the lake level may be lowered further beginning in January to a depth of two feet below the normal full level.

[XCR-700]

ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

After almost 57 years of boating on Winnipesaukee you guys are only now telling me about the stopper,,,

I cant believe this. I feel totally cheated. And now you tell me I need to be careful with my anchoring. And we just got a bigger boat AND anchor!

Please tell me we have makers around the stopper, and it better not be those stupid clear top markers, I can never see them

This is why all the Chinese restaurant employees do all their fishing in their restaurants aquarium, its so much easier than boating.

And I thought we were a (boating) family. So disillusioned,,,

[Descant]

Nobody is kidding you.
The No Anchor Zone is well marked. The markers are submerged and as the water level drops (Oops, is drawn down) the markers appear. Of course, some years the draw down is minimal and nothing is visible. There really aren't many people who want to drop an anchor in the channel going to Lakeport Landing. Again, years ago, there was a Laconia public dock next to the Laconia Water Works. There was even a launch ramp there, and the yacht "Scamp". The city sold the lot/dock to Irwin Marine and the Scamp was scuttled at the north end of Paugus Bay. Different times. The Scamp left us in the late 50's; the lot was sold by the city in the 70's. Diver 1111 has the Scamp located on his list of sunken wrecks. I think it was about 75 feet long. My recollection is that Jim Irwin Sr. owned it, taking it in lieu of fees owed. He then gave it to a local group of Sea Scouts. My memory may be a little off on detail. I was only aboard the Scamp once as a youngster. Sorry for the digression. Nevertheless, don't go swimming, diving, anchoring in the area of the Laconia Water Works intake.

[Prestige Worldwide]

I’m surprised no one has pointed out that the lake level changes are directly correlated to the size of the crowds and amount of urine deposited into Braun Bay.


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[Descant]

Originally Posted by Prestige Worldwide

I’m surprised no one has pointed out that the lake level changes are directly correlated to the size of the crowds and amount of urine deposited into Braun Bay.

If you are standing in the lake and fluid filtered through you into the lake, there would be no change because you were displacing the same amount whether in you or out of you. If you bring a bottle of water in your boat, it is already part of the displacement of the boat, so no charge. But, if you remove it from the boat and hold it out of the water, it is no longer displacing anything, until you drink it. Timing is everything.

[XCR-700]

Originally Posted by Descant

If you are standing in the lake and fluid filtered through you into the lake, there would be no change because you were displacing the same amount whether in you or out of you. If you bring a bottle of water in your boat, it is already part of the displacement of the boat, so no charge. But, if you remove it from the boat and hold it out of the water, it is no longer displacing anything, until you drink it. Timing is everything.

Sorry I think Prestige Worldwide was spot on, the crowds at Braun Bay unquestionably add to the total lake volume, and amount of urine deposited into the lake is clearly driving the lake level up requiring adjustments. What he did not state was the urine was being deposited from docks and the shoreline into the lake.

It seems to be human nature to desire to urinate into water. One only needs to take an early morning boat ride and count the number of folks on the shore or on a dock cutting lose,,,

Well thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Descant]

This is the draw down schedulke for lakes other than Winnipesaukee where DES controls the dam
https://www.des.nh.gov/media/pr/2019...s-drawdown.htm

[BoatHouse]

I would say this past week was when the lake is being drawn down. Must be down 6”-8” since Sunday.


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[upthesaukee]

Yesterday at 9am, lake was @ 503.18, about 1' 2" below full lake.

Dave

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

Yesterday at 9am, lake was @ 503.18, about 1' 2" below full lake.

Dave

Well there you have it boys and girls, the official date and time:

Sept 20th at 9am. Better hurry and get your boats hauled. (and leave the lake for us)

Alan

[Robin Clayton]

Does the water ever get too low to boat under the bridge. We are not planning to bring our boat under for storage at thurstons until Oct 26th

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Robin Clayton

Does the water ever get too low to boat under the bridge. We are not planning to bring our boat under for storage at thurstons until Oct 26th

You will be fine...water never gets that low under the bridge.

Dan

[jeffk]

Originally Posted by BoatHouse

I would say this past week was when the lake is being drawn down. Must be down 6”-8” since Sunday.


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If it is being "drawn down", it is mother nature (evaporation) that is doing it. Checking Bizer and the Lakeport dam site the lake height has been dropping at a "normal" RATE since the end of July. However, in this past week, the LEVEL has dropped below typical fall levels.

The dam rate however is been around 280 CFS, fairly low, since about September 19th. The operators raised it to 600 for 2 days for some reason but it is back to around 280, per the dam site. In fact, since early July, the dam output hasn't been above around 600 CFS, a modest level.

It's been dry, summer through now.

[LIforrelaxin]

If we get some rain, the lake level will come right back up.... the dam is now down to 50cfs for the normal Oct. Shutdown to allow area's down stream to do maintence.....

[Wifi-1]

Big storm coming in Wed night and Thur, lots of rain and wind.

[persistence]

Interesting! We’re thinking about one more weekend after Halloween. Have a 13 and 16 whaler. I’d love to take one of them up. Would it be worth it? Will the lake be too shallow? Normally launch next to Harilla on Long Island. Last time we were up in September out cove was pretty low.


Thx


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[BroadHopper]

Lake did rise a bit since the Nor'Easter. I quick ride out to the Broads from LLM was nice! I'm surprise there was not much debris on the lake. Saw a number of boats in outside slips listing in the water. Bilge pump not working? Battery(ies) dead?
It was a great day nevertheless. Not my last ride as the boat is one of the last to be pulled out in Dec. I had some fantastic cruise in Nov., Dec time frame!