The latest news about Maine lakes and ponds.

Running on Empty at Mirror Lake

September 28, 2007 - Passersby on Route 17 in Rockport might notice that Mirror Lake, which provides water to Knox County, appears to be quite low. Many feet of rocky shoreline are exposed, giving the appearance that low tide has come to the lake.

But there is no reason to fear an upcoming water shortage. The lake's water level is right where it usually is this time of year, Rick Knowlton said on Tuesday. Knowlton is Aqua Maine's vice president of operations.

While Mirror Lake might appear to be low, its level is average for the fall season. (Photo by Emily Sapienza)

The lake is currently about 9 feet below full, he said, which is the level it usually reaches after a Midcoast summer. By "full" he means the level at which the lake cannot retain any more water without overflowing.

"We know exactly where the lake is every day," he said, because the company measures it. Aqua Maine also studies the records of rainfall and water consumption religiously, as part of managing the water resources.

This September is right on track for an average year, Knowlton said.

"We tend to hit that same point because of typical rainfall patterns combined with (the summer's) higher months of demand, coupled with the greater evaporation," he said.

Grassy Pond, Aqua Maine's second reservoir, is used when Mirror Lake dips below the 9 feet under mark. Water from the pond is transferred to the lake using electric pumps. This year, the water transfer began on Sept. 12.

Aqua Maine prefers to avoid pumping water from Grassy Pond if possible, Knowlton said, because pumping is quite costly. The electric bill for running the pump comes to about $140,000 a month, he said.

Mirror Lake is 70 feet deep, and Aqua Maine's intake pipe is 30 feet under the full mark, Knowlton said. The entire lake has about 1.5 billion gallons of water in it.

Mirror Lake will be "full" again by next summer. (Photo by Emily Sapienza)

On average 3 million gallons of water are used a day. And on a hot summer day in the middle of the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland, for example, as many as 5 million gallons might be used.

With the water being transferred from Grassy Pond, Aqua Maine is putting more water into the lake than its customers are taking out on a daily basis. The goal is to have Mirror Lake within 5 feet of full by the time it freezes over.

Precipitation through the winter and the runoff from melting in the spring will bring the lake back to full in time for next summer.

Puffy clouds don't mean rain for the reservoir, which is getting low. (Photo by Emily Sapienza)

Chickawaukie Pond is Aqua Maine's second backup reservoir, much to the chagrin of locals who enjoy summer activities there.

The last time Chickawaukie was used for water was more than 50 years ago, Knowlton said. He is confident that the pond won't be called on to supplement the water supply any time soon, unless there is "a catastrophic drought event that would last for more than a year," he said.

Knox Village Soup
9.27.2007

Lakes:
Regions: Mid Coast


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