Lake level, opening of the valve

I apologize but I am away for a week at Myrtle Beach, but not out of touch.

It looks very much like the valve will need to be opened, but this is still in flux.

I view the situation as a "catch 22". The DEP wanted us to slowly fill the lake so as to allow the dam to be slowly saturated. This was for safety reasons and to watch the water flows through the dam itself. The storm and snow melt precluded their plan.

They have now requested that the "pool be lowered and held at an elevation approximately one foot below the spillway approach elevation. This will allow the approach channel to remain dewatered and allow for better monitoring of the flow coming through Flume #4. (a device for measuring water flow through a specific area) Once the snow has had a chance to melt and the flumes rates have stabilized, the pool can continue to be filled." One concern is adding more water to Lake Stonecreek, which is above normal pool level and incurring damage to docks.

Discussions are ongoing today with DEP.

I will keep you posted as I learn of developments.