Water Levels are Great, But What About the Temperature?
A visitor wrote in this week to compliment us on the water levels so far this season, but (there’s always a “but”) asked if “there is something we can do about the water temperature?” I don’t know where they are from, but, right now as I pen this week’s discourse, upper Long Pond is a refreshing 67.8°F! Not quite wet-suit weather but not quite enjoyable either, in my book!! And that’s on the surface. Forget going below that at least for another month!!
Another question by way of J.A. was, “For every inch of rain, how far does the Great Pond’s water level come up?” Well, if you remember from last year’s columns, for every inch of rain that lands in your water bucket on the dock, both Great Pond and Salmon/McGrath come up just about 1.5″, but (I know, another “but”) Long Pond with its steep watershed, comes up a whopping 3″!
Back to why I guess you’re reading this column, Great Pond’s Village dam is currently 1.44″ above full pond with the main gate still opened just 6″. Long Pond’s Wings Mill dam is at 1.32″ with both gates completely closed collecting cobwebs. Salmon/McGrath is now right at full pond with its single gate still opened the mandated 1 cfs flow. Our neighbors to the east on Messalonskee are down 5.40″ below full which is what they need to do for their electricity generation needs.
Our precipitation for the past 10 days was a meager 0.54″ of rain with only 0.64″ forecasted for the next 10 days so it looks like our honeymoon with the occasional afternoon shower is coming to an end. Remember, that they were calling for an average 20% less precipitation. Who wants to bet against the weatherman?
If you have a particular questions regarding our Dams and/or water levels, please email your inquiry to dickgreenan@outlook.com, and we will try to answer your question either in this column or via email.
Enjoy your summer! It’s going to be beautiful and somewhat dry.
Dick Greenan is secretary to the Belgrade Lakes Watershed Dams Committee. He submitted this report on June 23, 2022.
<— Previous Article • Summaries • Next Article —>
©2022 by Summertime in the Belgrades. All rights reserved.