This spring many of you may have noticed that the lake was higher than in the past and has remained at higher levels as summer has come along.

The reason for the extra water is beaver activity. They have built a dam on top of the spillway installed by the US Fish and Wildlife Department in 2005.

At one point the lake level was three feet above the height of the spillway.

This water creates extra pressure on the dam, especially at the points where it ties in to the existing land mass.

In the original construction , the Engineer implemented a control he felt would "fool" the beaver into not building on top of the spillway. He apparently under estimated the tenacity of our beavers.

There became a concern with regard to the possibility of  a failure at the edges of the spillway. The conditions were brought to the attention of the Engineer and his evaluation was such that even one foot of water level above the top of the spillway was cause for concern, much less three feet. At his recommendation pipes were installed to lower the lake level. These pipes have done their job reasonably well but the beaver have now rendered them useless.

The permanent (recommended) solution is to modify the system  we have to that of a device known as a Clemson Pipe. These water control devices are designed to be beaver proof and have been installed with success at many locations. I know many of you are pleased with the current water level and would like it even higher.

The issue is this. When the Lake Association partnered with the the US Fish and Wildlife Dept. on the construction of the spillway the lake level came under control of a man made structure, a dam in the eyes of NYS. Along with the dam comes an assumed  responsibility for it's upkeep and maintenance. Moreover the Association assumed a liability for any damages that might occur as the result of the dam's failure due to the neglect of upkeep on the spillway. Before the placement of the dam the Association had no liability because the lake level was totally controlled by beaver activity. If the beaver dam failed and the water left the lake it was a natural occurrence. To read more download the dam guide and liability guides in the files for download page

The danger is that the extra water pressure will soften the banks to the point they fail and millions of gallons  water would escape the lake rapidly. This would trench the area at the breach down to a depth where the rushing water meets with refusal for further washout, and could lower the lake by 3 feet minimally and possibly more in a very short time. Also this would render the spilliway useless without a major expenditure to stabilize it.

Keep in mind the fact that the spillway was installed to an elevation that the Engineer felt met the needs of the lake residents yet would not be compromised structurally by things like spring runoff. In fact the lake level dictated by the design is about 2 feet lower than it is at the time of this writing. The Clemson pipes may or may not be the answer, they don't work in all locations. Alternatively the beavers could be trapped out of the area to eliminate dam building. Drop me a line at b4urtaiken@gmail.com and voice your concerns.

4/20/08:
The slideshow comes from pictures I took this fall (2008). If you'll notice they are in sequence. See the entire lake including the beaver pond by viewing the Albums at  http://picasaweb.google.com/b4urtaiken