The Dams Committee is an inter-local governmental group of volunteers appointed to serve by the participating municipalities of Belgrade, Oakland, Rome, Sidney and Mount Vernon. Committee members oversee the maintenance and operation of Belgrade's three dams: Long Pond/Wings Mills, Great Pond/Village, and Salmon Lake. At its monthly meetings on the second Monday of the month, the Committee addresses lake levels, maintenance and operations of the three dams. The Dams Committee has 1 Sidney member who serves.

Town of Sidney’s Dams Committee Member

Ronda Snyder, Term Expired 9/13/24

Greetings from the Belgrade Inter-lakes Dams Committee 

As I write this update, all of our ponds are in their Winter Water Storage Levels – with the exception of Messalonskee which is dependent upon its electricity generation.  

Our 2024-5 Fall Winter Drawdown began on October 14th and calls for Great and Long Ponds to be drawn down from full pond to 1.5’- 2.0’ and Salmon down to 1.0’-1.5’ by November 1st.  The drawdowns typically begin with a slow and regulated process so as to allow some with their boats still in to get used to the idea before they are outright stranded! 

Why do we drop the lakes down in the winter?  The primary objective of fall and winter water management is to lower the lakes to accommodate the increased rainfall and runoff which occurs in the fall and again in late winter and early spring.  Lake ice has tremendous power that many of us experienced last winter with the excessive fall and winter rain events.  The phenomenon is called “ice heaving” or “ice jacking”. There are some positives and some negatives to this phenomenon, depending on your perspective. It can be extremely damaging to personal property on the lakeshore, but it can also be beneficial to the lake’s health and its ecosystem. 

First of all, why do these ice ridges form?  Ice is not stagnant in the winter and once it forms it is continually changing, expanding and contracting as the temperatures rise and fall. When the temperature drops the lake ice contracts, producing cracks which refill with more water and freeze. Then, when the temperature rises, the ice expands, but there is nowhere for the ice to go in the lake so it pushes up against the shore. As ice continues to expand and contract throughout the winter, it produces a ratcheting effect. Each subsequent and cumulative push exerts tremendous pressure upon the shore.

For example, for a lake that is one mile across, when the ice’s temperature rises from 14 to 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the ice sheet will expand laterally a total of approximately 32 inches, almost 3 feet!  This can occur in a matter of hours when there is no snow cover on the ice sheet – exactly the conditions we had last winter.

Ice jacking is more severe in years where the temperatures fluctuate greatly and where there is little snow cover to insulate the ice and keep the ice temperature constant. This winter looks like a mirror image of last year with the exception that we currently have a bit more snow cover so stay tuned!

Thank you all for your continued support and enjoy your Winter! 

Dick Greenan
Belgrade Lakes Watershed Dams Committee