In early October I posted a series of pics regarding the low water level at Hinckley Reservoir in upstate NY. The combination of low rainfall and demand had reduced the lake some 35 feet below spill level. I had hoped to post some pics in Spring 2008 to contrast these to normal levels. That won't be necessary. Over the past several weeks we have had considerable rain. Also, the major draw off of the reservoir, the NY state canal corporation, reduced their demand and planned to close the canal early. (At present, the canal is nicely topped off.) The result is that the lake is now just a few feet below spill over. Below the fold are some pics that I took just a few days ago. In the meantime we have had more rain (and some snow), so I wouldn't be surprised if the level is even higher than shown.
First off, a shot from the top of the dam looking past the four very large concrete columns. Notice that these were high and dry in early October. Also notice the lack of mud flats in the background.
I could not get the same low angle shot of the columns as I did before without donning scuba gear. This is as close as I could get:
Finally, here's a shot down the lake. No more "wide river" effect. We're back to a lake.
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Interesting. We down here in NW Georgia are still in drought. Lake levels have fallen, probably to record lows by now. Stream flows in my home town are at record lows. In fact, the stream flows I have checked are around 2/3 the previous record low. I'm surprised that the reservoir level rose that much. The stream flows must have continued at reasonable levels there.
Meanwhile the bathtub ring in Lake Powell continues to grow. I wonder just how far down Hoover Dam's generator intake ducts are, and when we'll be seeing them. (I confess to being an opponent of a dammed Colorado, not the least because its regular flooding used to feed downstream riparian areas which are now languishing or actually extinct.)