Author: Neil Santos

Wayne Ives, Hydrologist for the Watershed Management Bureau, NH DES has announced a third relief pulse from Dolloff Dam.
“I am scheduling a relief pulse on September 16, Tuesday. This relief pulse will be another 10.5 cfs release from Dolloff Dam only. The relief pulse will result in 0.05 feet (0.6 inches) of lake level decline. (See graph.)

Pawtuckaway Lake elevation is 249.69 feet; 0.71 feet below the full level of 250.4 feet.

Mendums is drained and too low to provide flow even by pumping.

Lamprey flow is 7.94 cfs – below both the critical and rare flow criteria. By September 16 the time below the protected flow threshold will exceed the rare duration criteria. (See graph.)

There has been no significant rain. The rain forecast for this weekend shows only a little, likely too little, rain.”

SIGN UP NOW FOR PAWTUCKAWAY GAMES

Saturday, September 13, 2025 1:00 – 4:00 PM
Registration is open! To sign-up, click here.

Get ready to be part of a really fun activity to benefit the Pawtuckaway Lake Improvement Association. It’s an event like no other, and we want you to be there!

Teams of two players compete to finish a challenge round of activities on each of five abutting lake properties in the shortest time.

Date: Saturday, September 13 (Rain date Sept 14)

Time: 1:00 – 4:00 PM followed by an after party at 24 Lamprey Dr. (snacks/finger foods provided)

Price: $30/team (only open to 30 teams of 2…Age 12+)

Location: 18-30 Lamprey Dr. (5 abutting properties) Starting spots for each team will be assigned by email prior to the event. Paddle or drive to your starting location.

Details: Participants will visit 5 properties on the lake and complete a non-strenuous, timed game. Time to complete the task will be recorded on your team card. Lowest total time for all five challenges wins!

1st/2nd/3rd place prizes will be awarded.

Arrive at 1:00. Instructions will be given at each location.

All proceeds will benefit the PLIA. So, sign up now while places are still open!

To sign-up, click here.

The men and women who make the work of the PLIA possible gathered for a cookout on Sunday, August 17, at the State Park Pavilion.

Steve Soreff got the group organized with name tags, our crew of Board members showed off their talents at the grill, and everyone got down to the business of schmoozing and dining.

 

 

 

 

President Tom Duffy welcomed the crowd and gave a brief update on work at Dolloff Dam, finally finished to the relief of all who live within earshot of the drilling.

He invited any curious volunteers to join him for a trial run as a boat greeter and inspector at the Lake Host station on the Fundy ramp.

Milfoil Team Coordinator Neil Santos outlined the work ahead of us in finding and extracting this invasive, which is returning to shallow areas of the lake in troublesome infestations.

He lauded the work of Lake Hosts and Weed Watchers in preventing and finding milfoil in the lake. Bob Given invited interested swimmers to learn how to “hookah” for milfoil searches.

 

 

 

                         

Dessert was a medley of cookies and biscotti hand crafted by Neil Santos.

Organizer Pam Kelly invited attendees to take home a small gift of thanks – a water bottle proclaiming their important role in the PLIA.

If you should see volunteers doing their wonderful work on the lake, please thank them yourselves!

   

 

 

 

 

First, a shout-out to Weed Control Divers Aaraon Wojtkowski, Sarah Patey, and Jamie Burleigh, who removed milfoil beneath 18 markers in Tuckaway Cove, clearing the way for boats to travel and float nearby to attend this event. They remain our Local Heroes!

 

The open-air concert sponsored by the PLIA on Saturday, July 26 was a blast! About 50 boats – and those don’t include paddle boards, canoes, kayaks, life vests, and floats – gathered on the water to enjoy musician JD Ingalls as he performed on shore.

The weather couldn’t have been more glorious, the sound carried beautifully across the lake, while friends and neighbors took advantage of the opportunity to socialize and relax.

If you missed it, or if you are looking forward to doing it again, you are in luck! There will be another Party on the Point on:

Saturday August 30, 2025, 5:00 – 8:00 PM

Please mark your calendars and join us for another chance to celebrate our lake organization and community. The PLIA deserves your support, so if you are not a member or haven’t renewed your membership this year, please take advantage of our easy payment platform now:

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/fba5d7d1-2915-46bf-b83a-233702e63343

On Saturday, July 12, 2025, 22 volunteers arrived at the meeting place on Route 156 to get their assignments from Road Clean Up Director Pete Wawrzonek. Twelve of them were new to this event!

Reflective vests were distributed, along with regulation collection bags, and long-handled

 picker-uppers offered by member Therese Thompson to make litter grabs along the roadside easier. 

Despite the high, thick foliage, our crew braved high humidity as well to search for trash along the stretch of road that is the PLIA’s responsibility to patrol. We even acquired a mascot for the day – meet Lucy!

 

When the dust had settled, volunteers returned to the collection site with 22 bags of trash and 12 bags of cans. Those recyclable aluminum cans will be brought to the Nottingham Transfer Station for disposal. The State will pick up and sort the rest.    

       

 

When we do these clean up sweeps, besides litter we also remove groundwater pollutants like motor oil, tires, and battery acid. Thanks to all who participated in making this stretch of land along the road in Nottingham cleaner and safer!

 

           

On July 4, 2025, Pawtuckaway Lake residents and friends decorated their boats once again to celebrate the anniversary of our country’s Independence. And they did not disappoint!

 

       

Making their way single file slowly around the lake, participants were greeted with cheers, salutes, and even ratings on their boat’s décor!

       

The wind was challenging, but sunny skies and bright clouds encouraged everyone’s smiles and laughter. There were even some shrieks as water soakers met their targets from boat to boat. It was, indeed, a Happy Fourth!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This sixth annual fundraiser attracted the highest number of participants ever, and raised a record $3,000 in the process! Profound thanks go to organizer Shelly Heit, raffle wrangler Michele LeFebvre, and host-with-the most Barb Thompson, along with all the other volunteers who put on this show!

 

     

Due to rain, the event was postponed from Saturday, June 28 to Sunday, June 29. Mother Nature cooperated to give everyone a sun-filled day. The hosts at all five stations made it a fun-filled day, too! Karen Batchelder and Jeff Gurrier, Andrea Lawson, Kathryn and Roger Frieden, Susan and Joe Medeiros and Krista Brown, and Anne and Bill Noeth welcomed paddlers, doled out treats, and offered them playing cards to complete their hands.

At the after party, it was time to buy more raffle tickets, assess poker hands, and perhaps buy an extra card or two to enhance chances of winning. Participants enjoyed some refreshments and chatted up friends and neighbors while they were at it.

 

 

Shelly Heit welcomed the crowd and thanked the organizers for their energy and good cheer.

Neil Santos arrived with a bucket of freshly harvested milfoil to illustrate his remarks about the  persistence of that noxious weed, and warned that it has been infiltrating our lake again, in alarming ways. His message: we cannot be complacent, because aquatic invasives like milfoil – and other dangerous pests – are a constant threat and vigilance is needed.

 

 

Bob Given made a pitch for more volunteers to help search for milfoil, pointing out that anyone who can snorkel can learn to use the hookah for this activity. With milfoil proliferating again, searchers are urgently needed. Barb Thompson added that kayakers who support the divers are also in short supply, and even occasional volunteers are welcome.

The raffle drawing was next on the agenda – one prize even went to someone who had purchased a ticket at Annual Meeting but couldn’t attend the event! Finally, poker hands were evaluated and winners announced.

 

Win or lose, it was a lively and enjoyable afternoon on the lake for all involved.

Sunday June 29, 2025 2:00 – 4:00PM

After-Party Starting at 4:00 PM

Given that the forecast for the original date, Saturday, June 28, now includes thunder as well as rain, the Paddle Poker organizers have made the call. For safety’s sake, the event will now take place the following day; same time, same stations, same raffle prizes, same after-party location.

BUT NOW, for those who were not free to attend on Saturday, YOU MAY REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE ON SUNDAY! You can go to: https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/paddle-poker–2025 .

Weather promises to be drier and warmer, and the same activities will entertain everyone. Come try your luck, both at poker and raffle drawings. Even if you end up with a poor poker hand, there is a prize for that, too!

If you registered for Saturday but cannot make it on Sunday, and have not already let the organizers know, contact Shelly Heit at shellyheit@gmail.com. She will draw a hand for you so you still have a chance to win some prizes. If you have purchased raffle tickets, she can send you a list of what we have to offer and will place your tickets in the appropriate jars as directed.

Otherwise, hope to see you on the lake Sunday!