A Desperate Need for Rain
We twelve town delegates on the Interlakes Dams Committee wish that we could magically add some water to our ponds but such lofty goals are still beyond even our reach! Our ponds and gardens are all in desperate need of rain. Since Memorial Day, we’ve been forecasting the possibility of 26% less precipitation this summer, but it has now hit home! Even for the skeptics!
Great Pond is now just 1.56″ below full pond at the dam, but we’ve got reports of 6-8″ below up in North Bay. Long Pond, at the Wings Mill dam, is currently 6.48″ below full. At Tracy Cove, nine miles north on upper Long Pond, we are at a full 8″ below full. UGH!!! Salmon is also feeling the effects of the drought at 3.6″ below full. Our friends on Messalonskee, like the rest of us, are trying to adjust with their levels down to 6.24″ and of course, they are at the absolute end of the seven lakes chain, so you can see that no one has been immune from THE DROUGHT!
Intellectually, we know that we are losing 3⁄10″ to 6⁄10″ per day due to evaporation with an ambient outside temperature of 85°F to 90°F per day. Add that to the fact that 75% of our camps still using lake water in addition to the normal seepage from our dams and you can see why there are rocks now that we haven’t seen since last fall’s drawdown! But, that still doesn’t account for all of the decrease in water levels!
There is also an additional phenomenon which I have talked about in years past called induced recharge. Basically, when you’re swimming without a care in the world and you ‘run’ into a cold spot, you are in an aquifer where water is coming into the lake from the bedrock and water table.
But, in a DROUGHT, when the water table is down, the water pressure is reversed, and our precious water goes slowly back into the water table. Long Pond, in particular, due to its bedrock, is blessed with an inordinate number of aquifers and a greater potential for induced recharge! Hence, Long Pond’s even lower water levels.
As of this writing we have only received 0.94″ of precipitation in the past ten days, mostly due to the 0.76″ from last night’s storm. There is only 0.55″ of precipitation forecasted for the next ten days, which is nothing! The showers are spread over five days but still only amounts to 0.55″, if we in fact get it! We’re losing that EACH DAY due to evaporation! So, for those of you or your neighbors with boatlifts, as I’ve stated numerous times, you’ll want to make sure that you can still get your boat off. We wish we could just open up the magic faucet, but we still can’t find it!! Please share this updated information with your neighbors.
Enjoy the family, your vacation, and this beautiful weather!
Dick Greenan is chairman of the Belgrade Lakes Watershed Dams Committee. He submitted this report on August 4, 2026.
Download Full Newspaper: High Res | Low Res (Details…)
<— Previous Article • Summaries • Next Article —>
©2026 by Summertime in the Belgrades. All rights reserved.