I have finally gotten around to generating a contour map of Clary Lake using data collected by the Department of Environmental Protection during their September 2012 bathymetric survey. In addition to the high resolution image pictured at left there’s a smaller version available, and a 24″x36″ PDF which is quite large but which can be viewed or printed out at about any scale you wish. Feel free to download them, you’ll find them and the other files pertaining to the original bathymetric survey over on the Maps, Charts, and Graphs gallery. Each image has a link in the description field to the full-sized image.
The data set consists of 3,265 points with each point defining a 3-dimensional location on the face of the earth (i.e., the latitude, longitude, and water depth below the top of the dam). The depth was measured with a depth meter and each depth measurement was paired with the latitude and longitude of the point obtained via GPS receiver. The data in the form of a spread sheet was supplied to us back in April 2013 along with a colorized bathymetric map of the lake generated from the data. This map was a marked improvement over the original depth map of Clary Lake, prepared by the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife back in late 1940s, but it lacks some real utility because it doesn’t show you what the bottom of the lake actually looks like- where the hills are, where the holes are, what the depth is at any given spot. According to the original depth map, the deepest spot in Clary Lake was only 23′ whereas we now know that the deepest spot is actually 29′ below the top of the dam. Continue reading
Virtually all of the natural characteristics of a lake are influenced by the land area, or watershed, that drains to the lake. But human activities that alter the natural protective features of lake watersheds can result in significant degradation of water quality and aquatic habitat over time, unless conservation measures are undertaken to protect the lake. This workshop will cover basic information about the relationship between lakes and their watersheds, common threats to lake water quality from watershed development, and how to identify and resolve problems through the watershed survey process. We will begin with an inside discussion, followed by a field trip to a nearby lake watershed.Please bring a brown bag lunch. 
The Whitefield Selectmen have sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General Thomas Harnett, the person handling the Clary Lake water level order and its pending appeal filed by Paul Kelley in Lincoln County Superior Court. The letter urges the AAG to expedite the current mediation process and enforce any violations of the water level order that may be found to exist. It was sent by email to the Service List. It has also just been posted on the Town of Whitefield’s 
Some of you might have noticed a change to the link structure in use on our website. The original “?page_id=266” and “?p=2243” links have been replaced with a human readable “post-name.” For the most part this will be transparent and not require any thought or action on your part. If you have links you’ve saved in your browser for favorite pages, they’ll still work, you’ll just be automagically redirected to the new link. For example, if you point your browser at:
We had a good meeting of the Clary Lake Association yesterday, reasonably well attended though I had expected a somewhat larger turnout given how much we promoted the meeting. I remain somewhat chagrined that so many Clary Lake shore owners either aren’t interested in joining the Association or just can’t be bothered. I’m also surprised that some folks actually show up for the meetings, but are still unwilling to join! What’s up with that? The Clary Lake Association is 
The Clary Lake Association Annual meeting is 
Jack Holland and I performed out bi-monthly water quality monitoring boat trip this morning and obtained a secchi disk reading of 1.80 meters (5.9′) indicative of an algae bloom in progress. This does not come as a huge surprise since we’ve entered a bloom state about this time of year for the past 4+ years. Still, it was an unpleasant discovery. I’ve posted today’s data on the 
Algae blooms are caused by the out-of-control growth of blue-green algae known as cyanobacteria. The most common cyanobacteria is Anabena, shown at left. Algae feeds primarily on phosphorus washed into the lake by runoff and released from bottom sediments in low-oxygen conditions. Undoubtedly the 7.65″ of rain and the resulting runoff we received in July contributed to this bloom, but the lower water levels resulting in reduced lake volume and sediments exposed to wave action and erosion certainly didn’t help any. Here are some pictures of what we can look forward to in about 2 weeks:
Special Condition #4 of the 
There was an article in yesterday’s Kennebec Journal by staff writer Paul Koenig providing a welcome update on the current circumstances surrounding the Clary Lake water level order. It is nice to see the KJ keeping this issue before the public, rather than letting it fade into obscurity. Paul Kelley was quoted as saying that mediation is to start at the end of this month and that the process is likely to extend into August: “My hope is that all the parties see that the best solution is no longer to fight this but to try to see if there is some constructive solution.” Nonetheless, the spokeswoman for the department said the DEP still expects the dam owner to begin maintaining the higher water levels by Oct. 1. Here’s a link to the article:
Stephen and Christine Coombs, owners of Branch Mills Flower & Grain and the dam on Branch Pond have finally responded to the recently issued Branch Pond water level order. Their stance is angry and defiant: they declare the order to be illegal and therefore refuse the order in its entirety. They list a number of reasons for this decision, many of which we’re familiar with, having already heard them from Paul Kelley:
Paul Kelley responded today to DEP’s June 2nd letter clarifying the requirements of Special Condition #5 of the water level order and giving him till today to submit a revised Water Level Management Plan 
