Low rainfall and a leaking dam seem to be the cause of the lower lake levels on the ‘Stringy Lakes? in Oxford.
The lakes, which include Cedar, Clear, Long, Squaw, Lake Mickelson, Tan, Spring, Davis and Park lakes have been lower than their regular level, which is leaving some residents concerned.
Steve Korth, chief engineer for the Oakland Country Drain Commission, said the various lake levels are six-inches lower than they’re supposed to be.
He said the gates on the dam, located south of W. Drahner Rd., have been getting worse and worse over time.
‘We made temporary repairs a couple years ago,? Korth said. ‘Those didn’t hold up as well as we thought. Now, we have to go back and make some major repairs to stop those leaks.?
Korth said the drain commission will be advertising bids within the next couple weeks for private companies to make the repairs.
The dam will be fixed ‘sometime this fall.?
‘It’s nothing that’s going to happen until after Labor Day,? he said.
To fix the dam, Korth said the private company would prevent the water from passing through the dam so they could repair the gates.
He stressed they would not have to drain any more water from the lakes to make the repairs.
Oxford Township Supervisor Bill Dunn said residents that live around the lakes pay a special assessment to do so, which will be used to pay for the repairs.
The supervisor also wants to dispel any rumors that the new township wells and water treatment plant located at Seymour Lake and Dunlap road is draining the lakes.
Doug Scott, project manager for Rowe, Inc., the engineering firm that oversaw the township well project, said there was a scientific drawdown test performed to study the impact the wells would have on the lakes before they even drilled.
Scott said the test analyzed the impact of running the wells for three days straight at full capacity.
‘It was concluded there was no impact on the lakes,? he said.
Bill Daneluk, a resident living on a canal that leads to Spring Lake, said he and his neighbors on the canal haven’t been able to take their boats out to the lake because of the drought and dam leak.
Their boats are basically sitting on the bottom of the canal.
‘We’ve been out here 25 years and have never seen it this low,? he said.
Daneluk remembers the lake levels being low a few years back, but not to this extent.
‘The dam was in disrepair back then and (the Drain Commission) supposedly fixed it,? he said. ‘It’s laziness. That’s what I think.?
Robert Brain, a resident on Tan Lake, said his biggest concern is how lax the county has been in getting the repair done and how the low lake levels will affect the value of his home.
‘We’ve got to fix the things we can control,? he said. ‘We can’t control Mother Nature.?