Please be advised that we are very aware of the low lake level and it is being addressed through the appropriate channels. There appears to be an issue at the well pump, but the details are not yet known. We are working with the WRC to get this remedied as quickly as possible.
We will keep you posted as we know more. In the meantime, YOU CAN HELP by limiting use of sprinkler systems that draw from the lake. We understand you are all trying to get ready for the upcoming holiday weekend and want your lawns to look spectacular, but this is drawing more water from the lake than the pump is able to make up for at this time. If you must water your lawn, please limit this to every other day, and do so in the early morning.
If you have any immediate concerns or questions, you can contact us or the Water Resources Commissioners office directly.
Thank you for your help and patience!
Duck Lake 
July 3, 2016 at 2:32 pm
Do we have any update? We can’t lower our hoist it’s as low as it goes thus we can’t get our boat off of it.
Also I think its about time as a lake we get our muck problem taken care of. Not only is it causing us issues with boats I see it as a safety issue with young children and animals. Our little dog actually got stuck in the muck and luckily we were able to get her out. I understand it doesn’t affect some people on the lake but clearing the muck out will allow our lake to have a healthier fish population, be cleaner, safer for young children, etc. who wouldn’t want a cleaner lake?
July 6, 2016 at 10:27 pm
Hi Tami – this is a topic we will plan to address in the July meeting next week. We have been investigating options and costs to address this.
July 1, 2016 at 2:23 am
Can you get a flyer out to lake front owner? They are still watering their grass 2times daily Joanne Kapilla
Sent from my iPhone
July 6, 2016 at 10:30 pm
Hi Joanne – unfortunately we really don’t have the authority to tell people not to do this. All we can do is ask, and it’s quite expensive to send mailers, which aren’t in the budget. We would appreciate it if everyone would help get the word out to their neighbors!
June 28, 2016 at 9:14 pm
I spoke with the Engineer at the County (Jason Say) and he said that there has been an intermittent problem with the new pump: It will run for 30-36 hours then shut off on a motor overload. They are now sending a tech out daily to check on it and reset it if necessary. The pump company has been called and will be coming out to verify and resolve the issue.
June 28, 2016 at 6:36 pm
Sorry. Fat fingers. “Have” not gave the boards been put back? Also I noticed time on previous comment of mine said 6:30 pm. It is only 2:36 pm
June 28, 2016 at 6:34 pm
Sorry. Fat fingers. “Have” not gave the boards been put back?
June 28, 2016 at 6:31 pm
Silly question but gave the infamous “boards” been put back in at the dam?
June 28, 2016 at 2:20 pm
It certainly intuitively makes sense to recommend that we limit lawn watering when the pump can’t keep up with the dry weather, and I don’t fault the admin for making such a recommendation. This is an issue that has come up with every lake I have ever worked with. Unfortunately if you run the numbers it looks like this: If EVERYONE on Duck completely stopped watering for an entire month, we would affect the lake level by less than 3 inches. My assumptions: 600 lots, 40 gpm per pump, 30 minutes watering every day, 90% of the lots actually watering, lake is 250 acres, 100% of the water goes to the grass and transpiration, none of it finds its way back into the lake. One inch of Duck Lake level contains approximately 6.8 million gallons. IMO, folks are more concerned with keeping their lawn green in dry weather than saving an infinitesimal reduction in lake level.
The problem is that the Drain Commission has been holding the lake level several inches above legal for much of the past several summers and folks now think that is where the lake level should be. They are allowed to hold it 2 inches above normal legal level in order to not “throw away” water from rains that temporarily raise the level and that makes sense. But if we have a fairly wet summer, they hold the lake 2 (or more) inches high,”just in case” and that is what has been happening for the past few years. IMO that was not the intent of the judge’s lake level order.
So, boat hoists have been installed when the lake is high, then when the lake comes back down to a reasonable dry summer level a few inches below legal level, a few folks panic, thinking they are going to get their boat stuck on the hoist. Do you see the obvious solution (drop the hoist maybe 4 inches)? I have been all over the lake in my 41 years here, and other than just off the narrows where folks raft and I have been grounded twice, I am not aware of more than a handful of folks that would be affected by the lake being even 4 inches low, other than boat hoists. Even when the lake was 8″ low, use of the lake was as high as ever.
The original legal level was set when a survey and engineering report was submitted to the judge over 50 years ago. That survey measured low lying properties and septic fields and determined if the level were held at a higher level there could be property damage.
If we want to micromanage the lake level to plus or minus an inch, we would need to do what Watkins Lake did: Install a new outlet structure that automatically and fairly quickly spills excess storm water without intervention and install a well (or wells) large enough to keep up with mid summer evaporation and irrigation with automatic controls on the well that sensed lake level and ran the pump accordingly.
June 29, 2016 at 10:20 pm
Hi Ole – thanks for the background and perspective. It’s useful for those of us who are newer to the lake to hear the lake level has been low before. I think perhaps the bigger pain now is the muck is considerably higher than it’s ever been, so the lower lake levels in combination with the extreme muck in some areas renders access to the lake almost impossible.
Candidly, if the muck/water level combination had been as it is now when I was looking to buy on the lake 3 years ago, I would have been deterred from buying. We’re experiencing a higher rate of turnover on the lake and younger families want to be able to kayak, swim and paddle board off of their properties. The current situation is off-putting to prospective buyers which can impact our home values and is also horribly disappointing for those us us who bought on the lake to be able to enjoy everything it has to offer.
My current reality is this:
– I can’t use my seadoo at all (because it’s stuck on the hoist)
– I struggle to get my pontoon out of the dock due to muck
– If I want to kayak or paddle board I have to wade out in several feet of muck because the water no longer reaches the shoreline
I would guess there are others that are in a similar position. I think everyone recognizes lakes like ours need to be managed and my personal perspective is I’ve already invested a lot in my choice to move here and I’m willing to put in a bit more to make the lake usable.
I hope as a community we can all agree to take action (and maybe spend some money) to get this lake back to a place that’s enjoyable by all.
June 27, 2016 at 11:20 pm
Water level issues? And you self proclaimed wizards, joined so you could kick Bob Jones in the butt? Welcome to community service. No one says thank-you they only want to complain.
p/s don’t use my name, I don’t need to hear from the whiners around the lake.
June 28, 2016 at 12:49 pm
In my opinion the new board is doing an outstanding job. We whiners as you say have never been better informed nor have we ever been better represented. There are more lake residents involved than ever before and we are being asked and allowed to voice our opinion’s on all lake issues. It is no longer a Monarchy as it was in years past. Not one of the new board ever said it was going to be an easy job but they were willing to give up their time to do do it, and to do it right according to our bylaws. Unlike Bob. So please if you are going to bad mouth and insult the new board as well as us whiners have the guts to sign your name to your nonsense.
Regards, Dave Dismuke