Shallow water issue raised
Saratoga Lake residents claim water is too low
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Lake residents say water levels are too low, affecting recreation opportunities, and they’re circulating a petition calling for better lake management.
The five-member Saratoga Lake Protection & Improvement District, created by the state Legislature, is charged with supervising the lake, protecting property values and improving water quality.
However, the group has no control of the privately owned dam on Fish Creek that affects lake levels.
“The water level is more dependent on the weather than it is on the dam,” SLPID Chairman Ed Dweck said Thursday. “Our watershed is huge. One inch of rain can raise the lake three inches. It’s really hard to control. This lake goes up and down a lot.”
In addition, he said natural siltation from brooks feeding into the south end of the lake has made water shallower there.
Residents say boating is negatively impacted and they want water levels raised.
“In the past 20 years, we have seen Saratoga Lake change from a mostly summer locale to a mostly residential locale,” the petition states. “Twenty years ago, summer residents came for just July and August. Now, residents want their docks and boats in to enjoy as much of the spring and fall as possible, thus extending the season. This is not possible now because of poor management of the lake level. What was considered normal a few years ago is no longer acceptable due to siltation and the lake has been too low for many of us.”
At least 75 people have signed the petition.
Winnie’s Reef dam on Fish Creek is owned by Massachusetts-based Enel Green Power North America Inc., a renewable energy company that owns a hydro station downstream from the dam.
SLPID’s contract with Enel calls for the lake to be drawn down each fall and brought back up to summer time recreation levels beginning April 1.
However, spring is the rainiest time of year and Enel is concerned about keeping the lake on the high side because heavy rains could trigger flooding. The company has an on- site supervisor who manages the dam.
“I think he does the best he can,” Dweck said.
However, the lake is currently about 18 inches below normal for this time of year, said Bruce Goodale, president of Saratoga Lake Association, which represents property owners around the lake.
The association did not start the petition, which is being circulated by residents, he said.
But Goodale said some residents have reported running aground in shallow spots or being unable to use their boats because water around docks is too shallow.
In some places, people might have to extend docks farther out into the lake, Dweck said.
He said the Fish Creek dam has been fully closed since Friday to raise the water level. But recent weather patterns haven’t helped.
Precipitation since March 1 is 2.11 inches below normal and 3.77 inches below the norm for the year. Wednesday’s rain was the first measurable precipitation since April 29, although some rain might be on the way.
Today’s forecast calls for mostly dry skies, followed by a frontal boundary mov- ing into the area that could bring up to a half- inch of rain Saturday, lingering into Sunday.
Dweck said SLPID will be hiring a firm soon to survey the lake bottom. Results will be compared to the latest study, taken about 13 years ago, to see the effects of siltation on water depths at the south end of the lake. SLPID’s contract with Enel says the lake should be kept at 203.3 to 204 feet above sea level. Dweck said he’d like to see it at 203.8 feet.
“That would keep everybody happy,” he said.
SLPID has applied to the state Department of Transportation to put a water- level gauge on the new Route 9P bridge, where the lake flows into Fish Creek.
He said SLPID has no interest in owning the dam because of liability issues and because it doesn’t have the funds to staff and operate it.