| Author |
Message |
kevin
Member
Post Number: 14
Registered: 04-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 10:17 am: | 
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With the low snowfall of last winter and the dry spring ( fire ban already ) how are the lake levels ? I gotta think they would be low, sure would change some portages into some longer walks I reckon ??? |
brian
Moderator
Post Number: 690
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 10:16 am: |
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Definitely low, but will it stay that way? Most portages won't change much, but many routes would be better avoided, such as upper Nasmith Creek and Ames Creek. |
sundown
Member
Post Number: 87
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 1:05 pm: |
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Brian
How's the Weather... I heard Elk Lake had snow
on the weekend?
Sundown |
brian
Moderator
Post Number: 691
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 5:10 pm: |
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I am not in Elk Lake, but I too heard there was snow on the weekend. |
kevin
Member
Post Number: 15
Registered: 04-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - 3:34 pm: |
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Just got back from LE, wow the water is about 5' low. Glad we did our trip up Maple Mtn. last year, it might be a little tougher going this year. They have the plug in the dam so lets hope it comes up in a big way. It looked like Temagami was about normal as well as the Montreal R. Has anyone been on Diamond this spring ? |
micmac
Member
Post Number: 18
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - 11:24 pm: |
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I've just returned from a 12 day paddle in the area:
Diamond Lake and Temagami are at normal levels; Diamond is likely even a little higher than normal, making "The Barn" portage into the LE South Channel considerably shorter because you can paddle the entire length of the marshy bay.
I too was surprised at the alarmingly low levels of Lady Evelyn, Sucker Gut, etc... not a pretty sight...
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marty_s
Member
Post Number: 6
Registered: 07-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 8:49 am: |
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Weird that Diamond is that much higher than LE, seeing as how Diamond empties into LE . Is the liftover a big drop now ? |
alscool
Moderator
Post Number: 129
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 9:29 am: |
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A couple of years ago at Thanksgiving, we met some bird hunters as we came into Diamond from Bob Lake. After a little chat and a turkey sandwich they shared with us they informed us that Lady Evelyn was flowing in to Diamond at the lift over. Seemed odd though not enough to paddle up and see for ourselves. But with Lady Evelyn being a controlled reservoir, can this happen?
Anyone know of the maximum waterlevel of their operating plan and the average water level of Diamond Lake? |
sundown
Member
Post Number: 106
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 9:33 am: |
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Actually, headwaters ought be higher this time of year... if Outflows from LE etc... are being drawn off, as Ed mentioned is normal until May 31. Reasonable, then to assume the tap will be turned off real soon, and LE, Sucker Gut, etc...
will stockpile water...
Not sure when Micmac came out, but drops likely less already.
Sundown |
sundown
Member
Post Number: 107
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 9:56 am: |
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Yeah Al...
It can happen, and it's of course most prevalent at the closest elevation drops in terms of proximity to the controlled outflow. Ed seems to have a real good handle on this, so hopefully he'll hop in. My experience is a little further
North, around Indian Chutes dam between Elk and Matachewan... and I've had a lot of very informative discussions over the years with my Dad, who developed the MNR Flood Control plans
for the Montreal headwaters. Still, ed seems to have the handle on the LE workings.
Its all basic physics though... if you have a barrel of water elevated at 10 feet draining thru a straw into a barrel with a 4" pipe draining it, adding two barrels (ie runoff) above with two straws holes draining, will fill it faster... except, when they increase the bottom drain to 8 inches... as they do in the spring. Of course, this is simplified for example.
Our flood control Spring system is to ensure the bottom barrel has the bigger hole. In Fall, we will reduce the hole and stockpile, enabling a
reversal flow, as you heard at Thanksgiving.
Ed... sound about right?
Sundown |
ed
Moderator
Post Number: 442
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 10:10 am: |
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I tried to find the link to the control dam on the Lady Evelyn River but it seems to be not working. That usually provides us a near real time picture of it's rise and fall through the seasons. |
ed
Moderator
Post Number: 443
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 10:13 am: |
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Here it is. It has been moved:
http://www.opg.com/safety/water/river/montreal/
then click on the lady Evelyn Dam as you move your mouse over the map that pops up. |
alscool
Moderator
Post Number: 130
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 10:54 am: |
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So Hydro's link shows maximum waterlevel on Lady Evelyn as 289.5 m. Someone check their topo map of Diamond Lake, often there is an average level stated as so many ft +/- |
irishfield
Member
Post Number: 118
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 10:59 am: |
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Temagami is actually about 9" to a foot lower than it normal is mid May. My dock ramp is usually slightly up hill to my floaters on May "24" weekend...it was downhill by about a 9" drop this year. |
kevin
Member
Post Number: 16
Registered: 04-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 12:17 pm: |
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I do believe it is possible, it seems sometimes in the fall the water will get really high on LE before freeze up, you'll see it in the winter.Then they pull the cork and let it drain. In the summer with normal water levels the lift over isn't that much, Ran it a few times in a fishing boat, pretty fun if you can get the motor lifted at the right time. So in high water it would be really close to the same level. |
sundown
Member
Post Number: 112
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 2:09 pm: |
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Al
My topos dont show lake level, but they do show very little shoreline variation at the junction.
Think it was 2003, maybe, where downstream systems (Ottawa/Mattawa) couldnt "accept" the spring overflow, so they couldnt pull-the-cork as Kevin sez... betya that year you saw the
"reversing falls"... intuition says... but, i'm sure records somewhere show it. I remember many
of these in late 60's early 70's, but further
north.
Hopefully someone will stick with it, re:topos,
and 2003... maybe 2002... with histically recorded levels.
Sundown |
ed
Moderator
Post Number: 446
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 4:50 pm: |
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In 2004, I was on the Sturgeon in mid May with very high water levels.Maybe about 2+ feet over the high water mark.
Lady Evelyn was filled to the brim in early May.
So much water was coming over Helen Falls into the drop pool that I couldn't paddle up into it.
The next year the level on Lady Evelyn L.was down about 15 feet in early May and it was easy to paddle up the drop pool below Helen Falls.
The winter of 2004 had very heavy snowfalls in the Temagami area.
Ask the snowmobilers if I am right. |
sundown
Member
Post Number: 116
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 5:01 pm: |
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Ed
Yeah, 2004... thats right... remember we had snow
stay early October 2003. I reckon I did more shovelstrokes than paddle strokes that year. And,
I remember they couldnt pull the plug, because too much water downstream.
But, thats how it goes... and if the LE isnt released, you can get your reverseflow situations.
You did mention LE Dam starts to shutback today, didnt you? So it shud all start to stabilize to norm now?
Sundown |
kevin
Member
Post Number: 17
Registered: 04-2004
| | Posted on Friday, June 1, 2007 - 3:06 pm: |
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The dam has been closed for 3 months now I believe, they usually close her up the first of March to catch the run off. I talked with a local about it, he says it should be back to normal by August, lets hope he's right.
Good Paddlin ! |
ed
Moderator
Post Number: 449
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, June 2, 2007 - 8:14 am: |
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Kevin;
According to the graph shown at the link above, OPG are required to be at summer operating levels on Lady Evelyn right about now. If they are not there, then they are not in control and in violation of their operating license.
Alscool:
I checked my 1994 edition maps for Obabika Lake and Lady Evelyn Lake only to find that they provide no water elevation data for any of the larger lakes on these 2 topos.
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dendrast
Member
Post Number: 28
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2007 - 9:36 pm: |
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Environment Canada is calling for a hot, dry summer with high fire hazard due to the lack of snow and runoff linked with predicted weather conditions (hence, low water). Govern yourself accordingly.
That being said, the storm a couple of weeks ago brought Lake Temagami right up to full - about a 4" rise (it was a doozy!). So one never knows, do one? |
alscool
Moderator
Post Number: 134
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Friday, June 22, 2007 - 9:39 am: |
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So one never knows, do one?
That's not what the IPCC tells us |
Temagami general