ILRC members watched with deepening frustration this summer as week by week the water level in our lake receded. With minimal runoff from snowmelt, below normal precipitation in the spring and summer and 9 consecutive months with below average precipitation the CVC declared Low Water I Conditions on June 1st.

It was the driest Jan-Jul on record in Orangeville going back to 1961. While we may want to hold onto every drop of water we have, CVC is also legally required to maintain a constant outflow from the south dam. The lake’s purpose is to hold and release water necessary to dilute effluent from the Orangeville Water Pollution Control Plant in the Credit River, ensuring downstream water quality standards are met.

While the club placed buoys in the lake to mark low water hazards and doubled the length of the dock, we still had less than 20 cm of water in which to launch our boats. Thankfully the rains came in September. As a result of one storm toward the end of the month, the water level rose 18 cm. In the 2 weeks following, the lake was up almost 30 cm, an increase of 265 million litres of water. CVC stated that the water level will need to rise another 80+ cm over the winter and spring to avoid low water conditions in the spring of 2022.

Let's hope we see water splashing over the dam come spring!