Who would have thought last year that we’d have open water on Androscoggin Lake on St. Patrick’s Day?     Looks like the last thin sheet of ice lingering on the Leeds side of the lake may be melted tomorrow.    Last spring’s ice out was April 12.    Happy Spring, everyone! 

ALIC recently formed its own Yahoo Group.  Go to www.groups.yahoo.com and find “AndroscogginLake.”    Participation will be limited for the time being to the association’s membership, who will have the option of joining the group (yahoo account required) or joining the mailing list.  Updates about the lake, as well as messages regarding lake association business, will be sent periodically throughout the year in an effort to strengthen the connection which we share. 

Greetings All’        Seems weather and logistics once again brought us to crisis high water levels last week.  The Lake rose as much as an inch per day between June 19th and July 10th. The lake was at a higher-than-normal level before June 19th, making for flood conditions across the lake including the River Delta being flooded out, Riverbend Campgrounds camp site flooded out, Beaverbrook Campground was forced to move campers from their sites as well as docks, and I was forced to cancel several annual Windsurfing clinics because our property is under water.

    The good news is the Androscoggin River levels ( which rose 7 feet between June 19th and July 10th)  dropped 4+ feet on July 9th-11th allowing water to leave the lake at a rate of almost 1 inch per day.

     This fortunate, yet heavy, Spring~like outflow of waters will require us to keep a consistant watch on the dam for blockage (debris and logs build up quickly with high water pressure) over the next 60+ days  so we don’t end up in the same situation again with more rains (please NO)  or Tropical systems this Fall.

  Anyone available to help either with manual labor or just to stop out and visually access and report on dam conditions please call Ian at 577-3671 or Bill 685-9306. 

•      Sunday July 12th:  Ian and Bruce 2+ Hours cleaning both racks and removing impending logs from the lagoon.  Used the new winch for the first time.  The winch was very helpful in pulling huge logs up the ramp without having to call in heavy equipment.  Thank You for the Winch !!
•     Tuesday July 14th  Ian 1 hour:  Removed built up debris from racks, several larger pieces ( 2 man) against the racks still need to be removed.

    It must have been the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend that I last spent 3+ hours cleaning the dam,  Due to the rains currents were neutral, making it possible to move logs as large as 24″ in diameter by hand.  I must have moved 15+ bails of woven debris, all by hand and numerous logs.

  When a log is large, we can get them to the edge of the ramp but are not able to move them up the ramp without mechanical assistance in the form of winch, truck, or heavy equipment.

    I left @ 10 logs on the ramp. If someone has moved them THANK YOU, if not.. they are back in the river and we’ll need to move them again once the outflow is possible which at the moment, appears nowhere in site.

   The lake has been rising @ an inch per day for a while now. The Water level  is up into the woods on Frenchman’s Cove as of 7/1. 

    Once the Monsoon season passes we’ll need to keep close, daily visual checks on the dam, a close eye on the gauge,  and be poised for some work-parties-on-short-notice, as it is going to take a concerted effort to get the Lake lowered to healthy levels.

  Ian Barclay 7/1/09

5/29/07  7:pm    1+ hour  Aaron, Chris, and Ian Barclay

 After Saturdays work party we had 100% flow, upon returning we had @ 75-80% but were able to remove all logs and debris and achieve 100% again.

 We plan to be following up within 48 hours. Rains in forecast.

 ISB

  Sunday May 3rd. No significant winter Damage (YEA!!)   Bill and Ian did some December work that probably helped to avoid problems.

 Erosion has continued on several seams.

Over the last 45 days or so Marc K & Ian have held several (semi-weekly) cleaning sessions.

All typical stuff stuck in the racks (Logs, Brush, Dead Fish, etc) with the exception of an ENTIRE wardrobe of clothing. Juniors, Misses, Lingerie, and Casual, all of these fashion flashbacks appeared to be headed for the Goodwill might have gotten tossed off one of the Bridges.  Thank somebody for us…

 Of course the clothes really slowed water flow and was really quite hard to pick out with pike poles but we think we got it all. 

  Naturally discovering the first item was a bit freaky for us ….  asking ourselves where is the person is that is supposed to be wearing said T-Shirt and/or will they come up next..

  Weekly work will need to be continued for now.. anyone interested can call Ian 577-3671.  

  the Aforementioned help always includes randomn visual inspections and status updates so please, anyone with time to drive out, please let us know that you are available and we’ll coordinate our efforts.

This photo of Frenchman’s Cove was taken by Debbie late last Spring. Now,  April 4, 2010 the boulder pictured is almost completely submerged by the current high water level due to three days of rain last week.  

What’s Your LQ? (Lake Quotient)

Think you know Androscoggin Lake?  Try answering these questions.   Correct response is in bold font.  Accuracy based on available information and not necessarily guaranteed.

1.)    Approximately how many acres comprise Androscoggin Lake?   2000  3300  4000

2.)  What is the greatest width of Androscoggin Lake?   2.5 miles     2.8 miles   3 miles

3.)  What is the greatest length of the lake?     4 miles   4.5 miles    5 miles

4.)  What is the mean depth of the lake?   15-20?    25-30?  35-40?

5.)  What is the length of the Dead River?   3-4 miles   5-6 miles   7-8 miles

6.)  What two towns share Androscoggin Lake and what were their early names?  Wayne (New Sandwich)  and Leeds (Littleborough)

7.)  Who owns Lothrop Island, aka Black Sand Island?     Saunders family  Name the other islands in Androscoggin Lake:   Blodgett, Norris, Androscoggin

8.)  Name at least three lakes or ponds in the “Thirty Mile River” watershed, which stretches from Vienna to Monmouth.    Moody, Kimball, Davis, Flying, Whittier, Parker, Minnehonk, David, Basin, Tilton, Echo, Crotched, Lovejoy, Pickerel, Pocasset, Androscoggin

9.)   How many unwanted invasive aquatic plants are on the watch list in Maine?  4  8  11

10.)  How many Maine waterbodies have infestations of invasive aquatic plants? 8 12 29

11.) What is the natural layer of twigs, pine needles, and leaves called? Rough Duff  Scruff

12.) The nutrient we want to reduce in the run-off is: Nitrogen Phosphorus  Magnesium

13.)  How far from the high water mark of any great pond (over 10 acres) does one measure to determine the Shoreland Zone?    75?   100?   250?

14.)  What distance constitutes the Buffer Area within the Shoreland Zone?  25?  75?  100?

15.)  By what year must landowners, towns, road associations, etc. come into compliance with the Maine Erosion and Sediment Control Law?     2008   2010   2012

16.)  In what year was ALIC formed?    1955   1971   1980   1999