August 22 – 28, 2025Vol. 27, No. 11

We Are In A Drought: A Water Levels Public Notice, 8/12/25

Aerial view of Castle Island in Long Pond, looking north, with the thoroughfare under the bridge at right marked with a white line.

Dear Neighbor,

We are in another serious drought which is rearing its ugly head for our farmers, gardeners and lakes residents. The…photo [at right] shows the Castle Island thoroughfare under the bridge which is still just accessible, but you’ll want to trim up and watch where you are going.

The long-term forecast back in May had forecasted an average of 25% less precipitation for this summer but unfortunately here in the Belgrades, we’ve received significantly less: 6.85″ in May, 3.32″ in June, just 2.03″ in July, and absolutely zero in the past thirty days. Normal precipitation is around 3.42″ per month.

Obviously, we haven’t had the rain, but to make matters worse, we lose approximately 3⁄10″ per day due to evaporation with an air temperature of 80°F. With the recent 90°F+ temperatures, the loss per day is closer to 6⁄10″.

And if that wasn’t enough, our water table is down around 8′. For comparison, it was down just 2.88′ back in August 2023. When the water table drops, obviously it affects our wells but results in a phenomenon called induced recharge, which is basically the reverse flow of our lake springs and aquifers back into the low water table. Add the additional loss from the 70% or so of our camps that still use lake water and you see why our lake water levels are where they are.

Knowing we were heading into another drought, we started with our lakes 3″ above full pond to give us as much breathing room as we could and despite all of our dam gates being shut down for the past two months, we are where we are. Without some significant rain, things are not going to improve.

The entire Belgrade chain of lakes are all in dire straits. Both East and North Ponds are reportedly down 12″ so there is obviously nothing to flow into Great and Long Ponds.

Lastly, for those of you with boat lifts, we would suggest checking to make sure you can still get your boat off. And now is also a good time to remove that boat lift canopy while you can still access it with your boat on the lift.

Thank you all for your patience.

Your Belgrade Area Dams Committee

Dick Greenan is the Rome representative on the Belgrade Lakes Watershed Dams Committee. He submitted this report on August 13, 2025.

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