Lake Scugog levels dropping ahead of spring melt

[Spiel]

Lake Scugog levels dropping ahead of spring melt

 

 

March 11, 2009

Chris Hall / newsdurhamregion.com

 

 

SCUGOG -- Beneath the frozen surface that covers Lake Scugog, water levels are slowly receding in preparation for the upcoming spring melt.

 

While the winter of 2008-2009 will go down as average in the books of the Kawartha Conservation Authority (KCA) when it comes to the amount of precipitation fallen, the months of December, January and February cannot be described as normal in the eyes of those charged with keeping track of local lakes and rivers.

 

"It's been very busy, we've been through event and event and event," said Iryna Shulyarenko, a hydrologist with KCA.

 

What's made this winter so interesting, she explained, has been the unpredictable pattern of snow-thaw-rain, which from time to time has left area rivers and creeks filled to the brim.

 

The combination of melting snow and torrential rainfall in late December and again in mid- and late-February have meant Blackstock Creek, East Cross Creek and the Nonquon River have been hovering at their highest levels ever on record, said Ms. Shulyarenko.

 

"The water levels at this moment are already elevated," she said, noting public advisories have been sent out to warn residents of the dangers of high waters.

 

And, added the hydrologist, more rain forecast for earlier this week was "something we don't need, absolutely.

 

"The snow hasn't stayed on the ground, it's come and melt, come and melt and then with the rain in December and February that has made these events very significant, very intensive," said Ms. Shulyarenko.

 

However, the overall level of precipitation over the past three months -- from December to the end of February -- has been "quite average," she added.

 

According to statistics provided by an Environment Canada climate station based in the Blackstock area, over that three-month period 198 cm of snow fell, combined with 102 mm of rain.

 

One centimetre of snow is about equal to one millimetre of water, advises the hydrologist.

 

That's comparable to the stretch of time between December 2007 and Feb. 29, 2008 when 280 mm of precipitation was recorded.

 

"It was almost the same," said Ms. Shulyarenko.

 

However, "what made last winter special was the month of March, when we got much more precipitation than normal," she said.

 

During that single month, 103 mm of precipitation was noted, with 61 cm of that recorded as snow. On average, about 54 mm of precipitation is recorded in March.

 

That late snowfall, in turn, rapidly melted as the temperatures rose, resulting in a bloated Lake Scugog last spring.

 

And, while it's still too early to guess what type of water levels Lake Scugog will post this summer, Ms. Shulyarenko noted the dam at Lindsay has been open all winter long in an effort to keep the water levels below the shoreline banks.

 

She explained Lake Scugog's water levels have been somewhat like yo-yo throughout this winter season. In January, the levels fell, only to rise again in mid-February and then quickly lower again. By the end of February the levels were once again up, but have since fallen.

 

"The general trend for now is that (lake levels are) coming down to accommodate the water from the spring melt," said Ms. Shulyarenko, stressing that at this time the lake is within its "normal levels."

 

As for the next six weeks or so, the hydrologist shrugs her shoulders when asked what to expect in terms of precipitation and its effect on the lake.

 

But she does offer that Environment Canada is predicting normal temperatures and amounts of precipitation for south and central Ontario.