Lake Levels

[KEN]

I saw on the news that some of the lakes in central Wisconsin have totally dried up! How bad are the water levels around Tomahawk. Can anyone post some photo`s? I`m especially interest in the Spirit Flowage.

[Old Scout]

At the rate the Spirit is dropping, by fall you may be able to walk across it. Long time since I saw it this low so early in the year. Some where around 7-8 feet down.

[KEN]

I never thought I`d wish for a lot of rain and snow

[tmarine]

nokomis was always the big deal when i was home. hows it looking? yay or nay?

[logic1]

Nokomis always used to be the lowest - I hear the Rainbow is almost dry & the Spirit is lower than Nokomis this year.

[Jeff Boettcher]

Nokomis is down 5 or 6 feet. The area in front of the old Moonlite Bay resort is beach almost to the island. All the places I used to fish when we rented there are currently dry land.

By the way, thank you for serving in the Marines. A friend from work is ex & his son served two tours in Iraq, also Marine.

<small>[ September 11, 2007, 05:51 PM: Message edited by: Jeff Boettcher ]</small>

[KEN]

If the water levels are getting lower and lower , wouldn`t it be possible for the Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company to close the dams for a while to bring the water levels back up before winter?
You`d think that if it can be done , now is the time to do it! The air conditioners have stopped running So, the demand for hydro-electric power down stream from Tomahawk should be at it`s lowest level of the year. It would be a shame to miss a possible opportunity, and end up starting next spring in a hole with low water levels.

[KEN]

With the water levels down so low , has anyone found any "treasures" along the now exposed shorelines?
There must be some some fishing lures stuck in some stumps or logs that are now visible?

[Sunnydaygirl]

The water levels are very bad for commerce all around the towns affected.It is also bad for our real estate people to try to explain it that you
can't use your lake in mid-July, August, September, October.You don't use your boats, ski do's, etc. either because you can't get your boat out on the lakes.The boat landings have sand all around and can't launch them there either.If it is tied to your pier and you are gone south to your home and didn't come up for a few weeks,your boat could be "beached." It is a bad situation all around.The bar owners have tried to state their case I have been told.No tourists,visitors, townspeople able to do these things lessens business for all involved.The kayak races seem to overrule though to drain the lakes for the important event?The south has gotten so much rain, but continue to let the water go south!

[KEN]

Sunnydaygirl,

I`ve been hearing the reports of letting the water out of our lakes for the kayak races for decades! The low lake levels are causing more harm then people realize! I`ve contacted the Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company (WVIC)about getting the level up before winter , but they never got back to me. Maybe the people of Tomahawk should get together and contact the elected officials to see if something could be done.

[Sunnydaygirl]

Hi Ken:
Keep trying to get in touch with WVIC. They really need to answer your call/questions.Don't give up-keep trying.Also a very good idea you had about contacting our local reps.The 4 seasons
are all affected by our water levels/flows.Fishing is a big deal in the northwoods and shouldn't be taken away by water levels.Makes everyone want to move from the area and to to a more plentiful area of water after experiencing this now "predictable" levels for our water sports and living.Wells have even dried up in our area from all of this!! We should all see what we can do and contact all who would be associated with this problem. Thanks for your post Ken!

[Old Scout]

As I recall from reading about the local flowages, they were built to control the flow of water and provide a constant flow to the Hydro dams. The idea was to capture some of the spring runoff to prevent flooding down stream and release the water as needed during the dry months. It was never the intent to provide a stable lake for people to build lake homes on or for recreation. Yes they could hold the water in the reservoirs but then when the Wisconsin river dried up and they could not produce any electricity, imagine the whining and crying that we would hear. The fact that in times of sufficient rain fall and lots of snow the flowages are full most of the year does not mean it is always going to be that way. As you may have noticed, all of them are drained during the winter to make room for the spring run off. When there isn't much snow, as has happened in the last few years and little rainfall you are going to see them drop as they are doing this year.

I know of a couple of spring fed lakes that are down several feet due to the lack of precipitation so it isn't just the flowages.

[KEN]

Old Scout ,

I understand what you`re saying. BUT, I find it hard to believe that at certain times of the year, mainly in the early fall and spring ,that there aren`t any days when the Wisconsin River has plenty of flow to supply the electric power, that the dams in the Tomahawk area could not be adjusted so as to increase the water levels of the flowages. When the demand for electricity drops because of lack of air conditioning and heating use, there should be some days when the dams gates could be adjusted accordingly. I`m sure there are days when those gates are wide open , releasing millions of gallons of water, when there already would be a sufficient flow to produce the electric power needed.

[Old Scout]

Ken, I have been watching the dam on the Spirit for the last couple of weeks and there is just a trickle of water coming through it. There just hasn't been any amount of rain to put anything back in the flowage. I think that is pretty much the case with all of them. The Willow and Nokomis are fed from the Tomahawk river and that isn't all that big so unless there is a lot of rain there just isn't going to be much to replenish them. The Rainbow is part of the Wisconsin river so that probably makes a difference there. The only flowages that are regulated for water levels are Lake Alice and Mohawksin. Not sure what the reason is that they are controlled differently.

[kingrdlk]

Contact the LNCC or Lake Nokomis Concerned Citizens Org. They have been dealing w/Wis Valley Improv. over this water level situation for some time.

[Rita and Larry]

We saw Lake Nokomis - goodness - never knew there were so many sand bars! Lake level too low

[KEN]

Well , we`ve had cooler temperatures and some rain.
Have the lake levels risen at all?

[Old Scout]

I haven't checked the others, but with the rain we have had, the Spirit has come back up about 2ft.

[KEN]

Old Scout ,

Thanks for the info
keep me updated

[Old Scout]

Things are looking up, the Spirit is only down about 4 to 5ft and is filling fast. All this rain has really helped.

[KEN]

Old Scout,

Thanks for the update. I really appreciate it. Hopefully all the flowages will get their levels up before the snows come

[logic1]

Ken, maybe you know already, but here is the current update on water levels (posted in the Tomahawk Leader)
Today Lake Nokomis is just 3.6 feet below full. The Spirit Flowage, down a drastic 11.6 feet this summer, is now nearly full. The Willow rose just three feet, to its current 8.1 feet below full.

[KEN]

logic1 ,

That`s good news. I hope all the levels are up come spring!