The other day I emailed our Membership to remind them of the upcoming hearing on the Aquafortis Associates LLC appeal of the WLO Transfer, scheduled for 10:30 AM on Friday, January 10th. The hearing will be held at the Kennebec County Superior Court, 1 Court St Suite 101, Augusta, ME 04330 (map). I wanted to get notice out soon enough so those who would like to attend have time to make arrangements. If you’re not familiar with this proceeding and it’s history, I’ve posted about it a few times on the CLA website, most recently back in the middle of December. Here’s a link to that post, for more information: Continue reading
02 January 2020: The Winter 2019 Water Column Issue Is Out
The Winter 2019 Lake Stewards of Maine’s periodical “The Water Column” arrived in our mailbox today. As usual, it’s full of interesting information about the state of lake water quality monitoring in Maine, invasive plant problems around the State, and other issues impacting lakes in Maine.
Last year’s Winter 2018-2019 issue of The Water Column was all about the impact of climate change on Maine lakes, and this winter’s issue continues their coverage of climate change with an interesting article on ice-in and ice-out trends. The Lake Stewards of Maine does a great job of publicizing their activities. The Clary Lake Association has been conducting water quality monitoring on Clary Lake in association with the Lake Stewards of Maine (formerly the Volunteer Lake Monitor Program or VLMP) since 1975 and is a long time supporting member of their organization.
https://www.lakestewardsofmaine.org/mediaresources/the-water-column/
Here’s a link to the full document:
December 2019 Water Level Chart Archived
December 2019
And 2019 is a wrap! I have archived the December 2019 Water Level Chart (at left). The most interesting thing about the December chart is once again, how much precipitation we received. It’s been a wet year and December was no exception. It still amazes me how much water can flow into- and out of- Clary Lake in a relatively short period of time. More on that later. In addition to the monthly chart I’ve also archived a bunch of other charts including the 2019 whole-year chart, the 2019 flows chart, the 2019 precipitation chart, and by the time I’m done probably a few more charts as well. You’ll find ALL of them in the 2019 Water Level Charts archive. I love charts. Does it show? Continue reading
We Give A Dam! Clary Lake Association Tee Shirts For Sale
The Clary Lake Association is making another foray into the world of online retailing and to that end we’ve set up a simple shopping cart system using Paypal as our payment processor. While it isn’t the world’s most sophisticated shopping cart system, it works and should serve our purposes well for the time being. It should be self explanatory and problem-free, but if you have any questions or issues with it, please contact the Webmaster.
To start out, we’d like to sell the last of these classic We Give A Dam! tee shirts! There won’t be any more of these! We had a dozen made for the 2019 Whitefield Fourth of July parade and people said they wanted to be able to buy some, so we ordered a bunch. Most of them were sold last summer at the Ice Cream Social and the Annual meeting. We still have a few of these classic tee shirts left (in several sizes) that we’d like to sell. You can have any color you want as long as it’s BLUE! A few of our original Clary Lake Association Sweat Shirts have turned up as well and we’d like to sell them too. Please visit our Items For Sale page to see what we have to offer.
We’re already getting to work on some new products for the upcoming year. We’ll be starting out with tee shirts again but are also planning on offering CLA hats, coffee mugs, bumper stickers, etc. Stay tuned.
17 December 2019: Clary Iced-In For The 3rd Time! [UPDATED]
Clary Lake has had a hard time staying frozen this year! It initially completely froze over on December 4th and remained well frozen for a week. Then warm temperatures and heavy rains caused it to mostly open up again on December 11th. It had completely refrozen by the next day December 12th, only to completely melt off again on December 15th! This morning, as you can see on the composite photograph of the 3 Clary Webcams, it appears completely refrozen with the possible exception of a small sliver of open water over on the east end of the lake. This afternoon’s expected snow fall will show if that’s really the case. Perhaps this is it. I don’t see anything in the forecast to suggest the lake will melt off again, but you never know.
While December 4th is early for ice in, historically it’s not particularly early at all. I recall as a kid ice skating on Clary Lake at Thanksgiving. Visit our Ice-In and Ice-out dates for Clary Lake page. We have records available back to 2001.
[UPDATE] I guess I wouldn’t be calling the lake fully frozen just yet, judging from the amount of water that’s leaking up onto the surface. When it first started snowing today, dozens of small wet spots appeared. As the snow continued, the wet spots grew in size and number. There must be small holes in the ice for this to occur. Perhaps a good hard freeze will finish the ice-in process!
Greetings Friends of Clary Lake!
Greetings Friends of Clary Lake!
Here’s wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year… and more inclusively, Happy Holidays, or whatever and however you choose to celebrate this time of year, this special season that we all cherish as we try to adapt to the waning light of winter. Remember, the light shines from within: may we always be mindful of the blessings we have been given and work to share those blessings with those less fortunate. Continue reading
16 December 2019: Update on AQF Appeal of WLO Transfer
You may recall that back in December 2018 Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF) took issue with the Department of Environmental Protection’s decision to transfer the Clary Lake Water Level Order to the Clary Lake Association, and that they subsequently appealed that DEP decision to the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP). The BEP subsequently denied AQF’s appeal at a June 2019 hearing. Then, in a move that defied understanding, on July 8, 2019 AQF appealed the BEP decision to Kennebec Superior Court, docket no. AP-2019-31. I posted an article about the Superior Court appeal (see “Aquafortis Associates LLC Appeals BEP Ruling“). The Clary Lake Association was named as a Party in Interest in the appeal. I haven’t written anything else about this proceeding since the appeal was filed in Superior Court on July 8th, but that doesn’t mean nothing has been happening.
During the several months following AQF’s July 8th filing of the appeal in Superior Court, there was the usual flurry of filings and by the (3) parties. The State for their part filed the Administrative Record (copies all the documents and correspondence used or reviewed by the DEP and the BEP to arrive at their decision). The State also filed a motion to dismiss independent claims. AQF through their counsel Dennis Carrillo filed a motion to supplement the administrative record, and the Clary Lake Association, through it’s counsel Randy Creswell, filed a motion to transfer the venue from Kennebec County to Lincoln County. All three motions have been “fully briefed” and I believe the motion to dismiss independent claims has been acquiesced to by all parties which leaves the motion to supplement the record and the motion for venue change to be decided by the court.
A hearing has been scheduled on January 10, 2020 at 10:30 AM in Kennebec County Superior Court at which time the Court will address two outstanding motions. Kennebec County Superior Court is located in Augusta at 1 Court St Suite 101. The hearing is open to the public.
November 2019 Water Level Chart Archived
I have archived the November 2019 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable thing the November chart shows is nothing much! We got a lot of rain (3.75 inches), but not as much as in a normal November (4.58 inches), the month with the highest rainfall on average. We were hoping to keep the lake level around 1 foot below the HWM without overspending our water budget and we did mostly OK until a series of rain storms in the latter half of the month brought the lake level back up to within less than 1/2 foot of the top of the dam. Rather than overspend our water budget, we ended up with water in the bank so to speak. Not really a problem, but not what we were looking for. We ended the month only a 10th of a foot or so lower that we started. We’re currently letting out close to 60 cfs in an attempt to drop the lake to a more normal level for this season. Continue reading
Maine Lakes Society Fall 2019 Newsletter
The Maine Lakes Society (of which the Clary Lake Association is a member) has published their Fall 2019 Newsletter. It’s packed full of interesting information. For example, check out the article on Freshwater Jellyfish on page 5. Who knew?
Happy Thanksgiving 2019 from the Clary Lake Association
On behalf of the Clary Lake Association Board, I’d like to wish everyone a very happy and bountiful Thanksgiving. We’ve certainly got a lot to be thankful for this year! Enjoy family and friends, don’t overeat, don’t drink and drive, and most important, DON’T TALK POLITICS 🙂
October 2019 Water Level Chart Archived
October 2019
I have archived the October 2019 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable thing the October chart shows is Holy Hannah did we get a lot of rain 🙂 We started the month 0.85 inches BELOW average and ended the month just shy of 3 inches ABOVE average for this date. All told we received 8.28 inches of rain in October whereas average rainfall for October is a “only” 4.45 inches. We received almost twice that. We’re now at 39.02 inches for the year, just 5 inches shy of what we’d expect to receive for the whole year, and we still have 2 months to go (see Precipitation chart below). All that rain complicated our efforts to draw the lake down this fall, and currently the water level sits at around 0.60 feet below the HWM, give or take- a level more appropriate for mid to late Summer. Continue reading
15 October 2019: Minor Repairs to Clary Lake Dam Completed
Last spring when the water level reached the top of the Clary Lake dam we discovered a few leaks that were missed during major repairs last fall. There were three gaps between stones near the south end of the dam by the red building, obscured by vegetation, and one small hole at the north end of the dam. At the time we just used sandbags to staunch the flow and made plans to repair the leaks properly this fall when the lake level was down.
We began the fall draw down back in mid-September and as of today the lake was 1 foot below the HWM, plenty low enough to allow us to make the repairs. Two bags of high strength Quickrete mortar mix and an hour and a half and we were done. Many thanks to Dam Operations Committee members Dave Knight and Steve Cowles for helping out with this project! Here are a few pictures from this morning’s work:
15 October 2019: CLA’s Water Quality Monitoring Team Wraps Up Another Season
We’ve wrapped up another season of water quality monitoring on Clary Lake and took this selfie to celebrate. For David Hodsdon, this completes his 44th year of water quality monitoring (he started in 1975!). For Kelsie French it is her second, and for me, my sixth. Jack Holland also helps out when he can. I think he’s been doing it for close to 20 years. We’ve got a good team doing good work.
Clary’s water quality this past summer was better than what we’ve come to expect in recent years despite a mid-summer high Phosphorus reading of 0.028 mg/liter (the 4th highest we’ve ever recorded). That’s considerably higher than we’d like to see it. The high P sample was likely attributable to the 15″ of rainfall we received in April, May, and June as runoff from rainfall is the primary source for Phosphorus. We did see a small burst of cyanobacteria growth no doubt in response to the high P in the lake water, but it dissipated quickly and didn’t raise any real concerns. The results of our last Phosphorus sample (we take 3 samples per season) taken on September 27th) aren’t back from the lab yet. We’re hoping it shows improvement.
Clary Transparency
The average of 13 transparency readings over the summer was 3.6 meters (11.8 feet) which for Clary is Great! Transparency never fell below 3.15 meters (10.3 feet) and got as high as 4.20 meters (13.8 feet) in early May. You can see on the chart of secchi disk readings at left that overall transparency in 2019 easily bucked the historical downward trend we’ve seen during the years of our water level crisis. We expect our newly restored water level regime will result in good water quality going forward, but we’ve got to remain vigilant. Lakes are fragile ecosystems and many issues can affect water quality.
Here’s a link to our water quality monitoring data going back to the beginning of 2012. Historical data is available upon request:
2019 Courtesy Boat Inspection Wrap Up.
Last weekend marked the conclusion of the Clary Lake Association’s first Courtesy Boat Inspection season and I’d like to thank our volunteers who gave of their valuable time to help out at the boat launch this past summer. In no particular order: Dave & Gayle Knight, Dan & Dolly Burns, Gareth Bowen, Wynne & Michael Keller, Malcolm Burson, Jack Holland, and George & Margaret Fergusson.
The purpose of the State’s Courtesy Boat Inspection Program is to prevent the transport and introduction of invasive aquatic plants into lakes in Maine, and this is the 19th year that the program has been in existence. With the repaired dam and newly restored water level this Spring we anticipated a significant increase in boat traffic and our concerns understandably turned to protecting Clary Lake from the chance introduction of invasive aquatic plants. It took a little while to get up and running, but finally, in early July, about a dozen CLA volunteers attended a short training session put on by Midcoast Conservancy (see “Courtesy Boat Inspection Training Set For July 1st“) and we started up our inspection program the following Saturday. Our goal was to have a courtesy boat inspector at the State boat launch on Saturdays and Sundays from 7 am until 3 pm. We broke the days up into 2 hour shifts. Continue reading
03 October 2019: Take Precautions Against Browntail Moth Hairs When Working Outdoors
Here’s a link to a Public Service Announcement (PSA) forwarded to me by CLA President Dave Knight, he thought it would be of interest to Clary Lake shore owners who’ve been impacted by these little buggers. Dave lives over on Hodsdon Lane, an area which was particularly hard-hit this past summer. Judging from the looks of the oak trees around Clary Lake this fall, next year is going to be another bad one.
September 2019 Water Level Chart Archived
September 2019
I have archived the September 2019 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable thing the September chart shows is how dry it’s been! We received only 1.97 inches of rain, just a little over 1/2 the September normal rainfall of 3.84 inches. As of the end of August we were 1 inch above normal rainfall, but the lack of rainfall in September means we’re now 0.85 inches BELOW normal for this date. Hopefully precipitation will pick up later this fall.
Despite the lack of rainfall in September, the lake level remained well within our target range of -0.50 to -1.0 feet below the HWM (high water mark) while maintaining the required minimum flows. We attribute this relative lake level stability to our management practices (as described in our Water Level Management Plan) and the repairs we performed last Fall which have reduced leaks to a minimum. Per our plan, we will continue to gradually lower the lake level in October to between 1 and 1.5 feet below the high water mark, and we expect to reach the maximum draw down of approximately 2 feet below the HWM by the end of November where it will remain until early Spring.
18 September 2019: Maine Public Radio Program on Algal Blooms
Scott Williams of Lake Stewards of Maine
There is a new Maine Public program on algal blooms and climate change that is well worth watching (or listening to). Here on Clary we have avoided a severe algal bloom this season though we’ve seen them in the past; we did have a mild, short-lived bloom back in early July, no doubt brought on by a spike in phosphorus levels due to heavy rainfall and the resulting runoff in April, May, and June. While Phosphorus levels have remained high this summer, transparency has remained greater than 3 meters all season. We’ve been fortunate. We are most at risk however in September and October as the lake water “turns over” mixing phosphorus at the bottom of the lake into the upper layers of water where it can feed blue-green algae.
August 2019 Water Level Chart Archived
August 2019
I have archived the August 2019 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable thing about this chart is how much rain we received during what has traditionally been the driest month of the year. August started out dry, but it wasn’t long before we broke the Summer drought trend started in July. We received a total of 3.70 inches or 0.37 inches more than the average for August. This rainfall helped keep the lake level right about where we wanted it all month. For the year to date we’re 1 inch above average.
Minimum flows for the period from July 1st until September 15th are 1.9 cfs (cubic feet per second) which is about how much leaks through the dam. Minimum flows rise to 3.5 cfs on September 16th. The minimum flows vary throughout the year as follows:
- 11.3 cfs between January 1 and March 15;
- 35.9 between March 16 and May 15;
- 8.3 cfs between May 16 and June 30;
- 1.9 cfs between July 1 and September 15;
- 3.5 cfs between September 16 and November 15; and
- 15.5 cfs between November 16 and December 31.
I’m still tweaking the monthly water level chart from time to time, but don’t expect major changes. I like this one.
30 August 2019: 1st Annual Coffee Clutch
1st Annual CLA Coffee Clutch
The CLA Coffee Clutch event was held last Saturday August 24th and we had a beautiful day for it. All told we had 7 boats and 6 kayaks show up carrying more than 30 people, all rafted together on Clary Lake, drinking coffee, eating donuts, and yakking up a storm. There was a stiff northerly wind so rather than anchoring out in the middle of the lake as originally planned, we moved the event closer to the north shore where we were a bit more sheltered from the wind. People who approached the flotilla from the south (which was almost everyone) had to battle high waves and a stiff headwind before arriving at the Coffee Clutch. Nobody had any trouble finding us- the sight of a few boats moored on the lake was hard to miss. Continue reading
24 August Clary Lake Association Coffee Clutch Out On The Lake!
The Celebration Continues!
Come join us out on Clary Lake…by whatever mode of travel suits you… swim, sail, float, paddle, motor. Look for the boats tied up out in the middle of the lake this Saturday, August 24th from 9-11 AM. We will be serving hot coffee and homemade donuts from the Chase Bakery.
Tell your friends! Hope to see you there!
Editor’s Note: This is just the first “on the lake” event we’re planning.