NORWAY – In a nod to both boaters and lakeside residents, the town has agreed to lower Lake Pennesseewassee by 4 to 6 inches, enough to potentially avoid floods that could damage basements, but not enough to jeopardize boats.
“We committed to lowering the lake a little bit this time of year in anticipation of heavy spring rains,” Town Manager David Holt said recently.
Bruce Cook, president of the Lakes Association of Norway, said Wednesday that the new level is a compromise he’s satisfied with.
“Originally it was going to be a foot, and I thought that was too much,” Cook said. “My board agreed we didn’t want it down that much at any one time. I think lowering it one time 4 to 6 inches doesn’t preclude it being lowered a little bit more if weather conditions warrant it.”
Some want it higher, some lower. If the lake level gets too high, the water threatens to enter people homes, as well as erode shores. But if it falls too low, boats can be damaged. Also, some lakeside residents pipe lake water into their homes, and those pipes can freeze when the lake dips too much.
“We are trying to be sensitive to the needs of everybody, all the shore-land owners, especially those people who live in low-lying areas,” Cook said. But, he added, “It is pretty expensive if you hit something and bend a propeller.”
Lakeside resident Tere Porter said that last spring his home sustained about $13,300 damage after the water rose and flooded his basement.
“I am cautiously optimistic,” he said Wednesday about the agreement. He has lived by the lake since 1967, and said that the water level has increased since 1985. “I think it is in the right direction, but only time will tell. This is not in concrete, it can be modified.”
Holt said that the dam company, Ridgewood Renewable Power, is investigating monitoring equipment that would allow operators to remotely control the gates.
“We’re going to price out putting out more monitoring equipment so we have a better idea what is happening over time with the lake,” Holt said.
The decision to monitor the lake level is a step away from a choice the town made in the early 1990s to not regulate the lake much to avoid upsetting people.
Holt said, “We think we’re heading into a time when we’ll have more information and be able to do it better.”
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