Has Lake of the Woods reached it’s peak level yet? Perhaps. Signs are encouraging as a recent report indicates a 1/2″ drop in a week.
To say the lake is a little high is an understatement. It passed the 2014 high water level by a long way and our dock is holding on by a thread at this point. No loss of lumber but going up and down like a yo-yo with the waves and wakes.
Inflow to Lake of the Woods is decreasing as the major upstream lakes in the basin have peaked and are dropping.
These much drier conditions have caused all tributary flows across the basin to drop considerably and return to high-normal or normal flow rates for this time of year. All major lake inflows have also peaked and have returned to a high-normal range for this time of year. Finally, with these drier conditions being sustained and allowing inflows to continue to trend downward, all major lakes have also peaked. Lac Seul and Namakan Lake levels are very close to their normal range for this time of year. Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods levels remain exceptionally high, but significant reductions in level are expected for the months of July and August on these two lakes should dry conditions persist.
http://lwcb.ca/noticeboard/2022/07/07/2022-07-07-june-precipitation/
Estimates are that if the weather is dry that levels may return to normal by mid-august. What is normal? Well, that’s a 2 1/2 foot drop from the current levels to what is considered the top end of the operating range for the lake. That drop would be just right for our dock situation.
Outflows from the Lake of the Woods are at maximum as the Norman dam remains fully open.