State Announces its 2024 Fall Drawdown of Lakes

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) announced today that the annual fall drawdown of the lakes and ponds controlled by dams owned by NHDES will be initiated according to the schedule below.

1. Little Bog Dam and Lower Trio Dam will have a drawdown and reconstruction starting this fall pending State approvals for bids and construction timeline.
2. These larger lakes generally do not reach their full drawdowns until mid or late March.
   The values listed above are generally the maximum levels reached, although during any given year the levels reached can be either higher or lower due to weather conditions. 
3. Mendums Pond Dam in Nottingham will have a deep drawdown this fall for reconstruction of the downstream part of the dam. The project is split into 3 phases and when each phase is completed, the pond may be filled incrementally. Worst case scenario for 2025 will be the pond at complete drawdown and best-case scenario is to gain some pond through the summer and fall. Variables such as weather, availability and timing of subcontractors, etc. can impact the schedule and is challenging to forecast
4. Namaske Lake/Kelley Falls Dam will have drawdown this year to minus 3’ from full pond and will remain down until spring runoff.
5. Pine River Pond will experience its normal winter drawdown although the NHDES Dam Bureau will be rehabilitating the dam structure through the winter and spring of 2025. NHDES does not anticipate any modifications to the refill of the pond in the spring of 2025.

The depth of drawdown listed above is not from the current level but is from the normal full pond level. Due to changing ice and hydrologic conditions, these levels can vary throughout the winter. Since the hydrologic conditions and recreational uses of these water bodies vary, the degree and date of the start of drawdown for each lake vary and could be affected by the amount of rainfall during the period.  In addition, the actual date at which the drawdown will begin could vary by a few days based on operational constraints. However, at three dams, the drawdowns will be initiated or accelerated on a specific Saturday in October to provide recreational opportunities for canoeists and kayakers in the rivers below these dams. The schedule for these recreational opportunities is as follows: 

• Horace Lake will have a release for recreational use downstream on Saturday, October 12. Water release from the dam will begin at 8 AM and end at 4 PM. Between 300 and 400 cfs will be released for that time period.
• Also there will be a recreational release from Northwood Lake (Little Suncook River) on Saturday, October 21 starting at 8 AM and end at 4 PM for recreational use downstream.

NHDES reminds people that canoeing and kayaking have inherent risks, and paddling the state’s lakes and rivers is at the paddler’s own risk.

Lake drawdowns are conducted each fall to reduce winter ice damage to shoreline properties and to reduce spring flooding. Drawdowns also give property owners an opportunity to conduct any necessary repairs to their waterfront property, provided they first secure a permit from the NHDES Wetlands Bureau at (603) 271-2147. 

Generally, lake levels are allowed to return to the normal full pond level in the spring.  However, the drawdowns of Opechee and Winnisquam Lakes, which occur on a two-year interval, last only approximately two weeks.  This year, the lowering of Opechee Lake will begin on October 14th, and it will likely take two days to pass the water from Opechee Lake downstream through Winnisquam Lake. Therefore, the level of Winnisquam Lake is not expected to drop noticeably until October 16. On October 28 flows at Lakeport Dam will be increased to refill Opechee Lake, and the level of Winnisquam Lake should begin to rise late in the day on October 29.

Not included in this schedule is Lake Winnipesaukee. Unlike the other lakes in this schedule, Lake Winnipesaukee is not purposely drawn down in the fall.  Instead, in the fall after Columbus Day, the releases from Lakeport Dam are reduced from a normal minimum of 250 cubic feet per second (cfs) to a flow between 30 and 50 cfs for a period of up to two weeks to allow for maintenance of the dams and hydropower facilities on the Winnipesaukee River. The flow of 30 to 50 cfs is the minimum flow needed to maintain the downstream aquatic life during this period. This year the reduction will be begun on October 9. 

By the middle of the fall, Lake Winnipesaukee is, on average, 15 inches below its springtime full level due to evaporation and releases from the lake that have occurred over the course of the summer. As a result of the reduction in the amount of water released from the dam after Columbus Day, the lake level does not drop for the remainder of the month of October and is generally maintained at this level through the month of December. Depending on the amount of snow on the ground in the winter, the lake level may be lowered further beginning in January to a depth of two feet below the normal full level.

A plot of the average lake levels throughout the year for Lake Winnipesaukee is provided on NHDES’ website. Also included are updated plots of this year’s lake levels, releases from the dam and precipitation.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department recommends that if special drawdowns are to be conducted for the purposes of repairing property such as retaining walls or private boat ramps they occur only once in every 5 years. In the event a party may wish to conduct such a drawdown, please contact the NHDES Dam Bureau immediately after receiving all permits required for such work, so that the drawdown can be coordinated with any other work at the same water body being proposed by other parties. In this way the number of special drawdowns can be minimized, and unexpected delays (up to 5 years) for your project can be avoided.