This report comes from NH DES, where the Dam Bureau has been busy working on dams and dikes in Pawtuckaway:
The removal of Burnham’s Dike is serving an important role in helping to keep the organic matter present in Burnhams Marsh from washing into Fundy Cove, were the dam/dike to have failed. This effort will help protect water quality within Fundy Cove and, therefore, the rest of Pawtuckaway Lake.*
While the low lake level at present is an inconvenience to anglers who wish to cast their lines in the shallow areas of the lake, the delay in raising the lake to normal summer level should ultimately be of long-term environmental benefit for all stakeholders.
Removal at the Burnhams Marsh Dike/Dam is proceeding smoothly. The removal effort is anticipated to finish up by the end of this week. That same crew has some work to perform on a couple of other dams within the State Park next week, but they should be out of there after that.
At Drowns Dam, the gate is open a few inches to allow the required minimum flow for the stream, but the lake level is still 1.5-2 ft below the spillway elevation associated with normal summer lake level.
At Dolloff, the lake is holding steady at the level of the stop logs and spilling over to provide the minimum required discharge as well. Once the crew has finished with their work within the State Park next week, the plan is to continue bringing the lake up to normal summer level. This will involve adding more stop logs at Dolloff. NHDES continues to monitor the Dolloff Dam and the sinkhole on the crest to ensure the dam remains safe as the water levels rise. As Corey Clark previously shared, if conditions at Dolloff Dam change in such a way as to generate concern, then it may prove necessary to lower the lake level back down to reduce the loading on the dam.
* And moving water out through Drowns Dam is another way to get rid of the nutrient-rich effluent leaving Burnhams Marsh – Ed.