Ashmere Lake Back to Normal Level; State Still Probing Drawdown
 Lake Ashmere is back to normal level after the state accidentally drained too much water out this past spring. |
That comes from the Department of Environmental Protection's Catherine Skiba, spokeswoman for the lead state agency in the probe of what happened and why.
The probe stems from an incident over the Patriots Day holiday, when residents noticed that their lake, which straddles Peru and Hinsdale, had changed overnight from brimming body of water to glorified mud puddle. The state's Department of Conservation and Recreation, which owns the lake, performed a planned drawdown that yielded unplanned results: Instead of drawing down the water about 2 feet, the DCR accidentally drained the lake about 5.
Hinsdale Conservation Commission Chairman Mike Frederick (also a member of the Peru Conservation Commission) qualified it as the worst environmental travesty that he had ever seen.
Skiba said the investigation is ongoing, but that fact-finding hasn't moved beyond the discussion point, some three months after a planned seasonal drawdown of the 300-acre lake somehow went awry.
"I don't have a lot to tell you. We're still investigating it, and continuing to discuss trying to do some fact-finding and evaluate the impacts at this point," said Skiba.
Skiba said there is no timeline to complete an investigation. She said one staffer is conducting the investigation with the oversight of a supervisor.
The DEP often fines private companies for such infractions. For one branch of state government probing another, the DEP has enforcement polices, regulations and guidelines. Skiba said not every violator is fined.
"We don't always issue penalties for violations. What we're looking for is mitigation and rectification," said Skiba. She did say, however, that the water level is back up to what she called "the summer pool level," which is the level that would've been attained had the draw down gone as planned.
John Hagan, president of Skyview Grove Association, of Ashmere Road, didn't expect investigation results from the commonwealth anytime soon.
"Knowing how the state moves, my grandchildren may actually find out what happened," said Hagan. "I'm not going to put my energy into that piece. I think that we're on a good course now, and we just had a rough beginning."
Hagan said the extreme drawdown was a shocker for all residents of the lake.
"We have lakefront property, and it was just all mud. The first thing I thought was the environmental impact. We have perch that every spring make their nest circles [just offshore]. We know we have a healthy lake because of the variety of wildlife. The woman next door was literally picking up these floundering perch, because they were in mud, throwing them out toward where the water was," said Hagan.
He also expressed concern about the increase of weeds in the lake, as a number of species received a greater quantity of sunlight than normal because of the low water level. That can spur extreme plant growth and choke out bodies of water and its resident wildlife.
"We have a different type of weed that I've noticed this year. I don't know if that was because of the drawdown ... but there's definitely been a change in the flora," said Hagan. He also expressed concerns about invasive species, such as the zebra mussel and purple loosestrife, as the former has brought nearby bodies of water to a recreational standstill.
Most important for Hagan and his lakeside constituents, though, is that the water level is now back to a normal level, which opens the lake up for regular use.
"In light of the fact that we've had such a rainy season, and the lake level has returned to what has been the normal level for the last couple of years, we're just thrilled, because we had in our minds, and we were told, perhaps we would not even be able to get boats into the lake this year," said Hagan.
Despite being able to participate in summer fun at Ashmere, Hagan has concerns about the fallout from the prolonged period of low water.
"Even with the rise in the level of the lake, we still haven't really Skyview Grove Association concern is monitoring the quality of the lake, which influences the quality of the life of the members who come here either for vacation or as a resort or summer home or permanent resident. We're very conscious of that," said Hagan. "What we love about this lake, we want to keep that in as pristine a condition for not only ourselves but future generations."
The association — which has about 100 member households from on and nearby the lake — met earlier this month, and Hagan said lake residents seem to be relieved that the lake returned to an acceptable level.
"It's been difficult," said Hagan.
Meanwhile, the work to repair the ailing Ashmere dam has been permitted and is ready to go, said the DEP's Skiba. The metal sheeting, which acts as an interim water barrier, has been installed, but much work remains. The dam was deemed recently by the commonwealth a "high hazard" structure, with immediate remediation required.
The 1,525-foot-long, 32-foot high earthen dam will be expanded to about twice its current footprint.
Contact Noah Hoffenberg at hoff1013@gmail.com.
