Lake Level

Paul Myers, Lake Level Committee

During the third week of April, a representative of the TLA board was finally able to get back to the dam on the Turtle River to see what transpired over the winter. Unfortunately for us, the beaver had a very active winter as was evident by the height of two of the three dams. So much water was being held back by the dams that the water level on Turtle Lake was well above the high range.

On Friday, April 26th Tim Goserud, Jim Brauner and I went back to the river and spent a considerable amount of time dismantling both the dams. By the end of our shift, we had the water running freely or a better description might be-rushing-over both dams. It is evident that beaver are present and active so we will keep an eye on the situation and act accordingly. We did not have to work on the dam closest to the lake because it was wide open – no beaver activity there. Due to our efforts, the lake should be dropping as I write this note! Please understand it is expected that the lake level will slowly drop during the month of May and will likely be on the high end if you are installing your docks/lifts in the next few weeks.

After we finished the work on the dam I talked with the state hydrologist for our region to bring him up to speed. He made an interesting comment about the dam closest to the lake indicating that the activity of the beaver since the early 1990s has raised the slope of the land at that point creating what can best be described as a natural barrier. His feeling is it is now better for us to focus on the dams downriver as a tool for managing the lake level and keeping the outlet closest to the lake open. Please contact me with any comments or questions.