By Michael J. Solomon, Drain Commissioner
Lake Mitchell’s water level – up and down in 2007
Lake levels in 2007 seemed to be all over the board. After a very wet October 2006 when we received over 6 inches of rain we were not able to get the lake level down to an acceptable level going into the New Year. March and April were wetter than normal but by keeping the dam wide open I was able to manage the water levels at an acceptable level throughout the spring. Probably a little higher than some would like, but lower than others want. I closed the dam in mid June and have not reopened it since as lake levels have continued to drop. The drought that we had during the summer took there toll on the lakes also and we now have some of the lowest levels on record. I have been on the lake for over 20 years and not seen it this low. Others, with longer histories talk of times when it was much lower during the summer and they actually had to move their boats and hoists out to the drop off to be able to launch them. The lake level is down almost 12 inches from spring high levels that we often have in April and May. Before the lakes froze in early December, you could see a sand bar in the entrance to the canal that nearly blocked the whole entrance.
What can we expect in 2008? The only thing I know is that it is pretty unpredictable. It is solely dependent upon winter snow pack, spring rains and runoff conditions. If we get adequate precipitation from now through April the lakes will rebound nicely…if we don’t we may be in for very low levels for this summer’s boating season. Snow pack is a key and right now (early January) we do not have much. It takes about 10 inches of snow to equal an inch of water…so a lot of snow is necessary to account for our water deficit right now. I will keep the dam closed until the water levels have significantly rebounded, but open them in the spring if needed to release any flood flows.
Lake Mitchell Water Quality
I have completed the sixth year of water quality testing on Lake Mitchell since I have been Drain Commissioner. This is starting to give us a good indication of our existing water quality. Water quality can be quite variable, so a series of data can be much more valuable. Our transparency data varies from 5 to 9 feet over the 6 year period with 6 to 8 foot readings in 2007. Our trend line is fairly stable with a slight trend to reduced clarity. Our phosphorus values also increased some in 2007 as they did in 2006. They average right around 20 micrograms/liter…with 10 considered to be low and 50 to be high. Our lake water quality composite has seemed to stay fairly level around the high 80s which is in the "B" range if we were grading like in high school. I will once again be doing this analysis in 2008 and hopefully we will see some improvements.
E. coli Testing
The Drain Commissioner has also done beach monitoring for E. coli at the Lake Mitchell State Park since 2004. In 2007 the sampling period began on June 12 and continued through September 4. Fourteen samples were collected in 3 different locations at this beach. All of the samples were within State standards for swimming sites.
If you have any questions concerning this information or other concerns, please call me at 779-9115.
Mike Solomon, Wexford County Drain Commissioner
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