Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 87F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph..

Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 64F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Dylan Andrews of Northwood fishes for bass Monday in Northwood Meadows Lake, where water levels dropped dramatically last month after a drainage pipe in an earthen dam gave way.

A snowy egret surveys the stumps revealed by the fallen level of the lake at Northwood Meadows State Park on Monday. State officials estimate the 18-acre lake may have lost three-quarters of its water.

Dylan Andrews of Northwood fishes for bass Monday in Northwood Meadows Lake, where water levels dropped dramatically last month after a drainage pipe in an earthen dam gave way.

A snowy egret surveys the stumps revealed by the fallen level of the lake at Northwood Meadows State Park on Monday. State officials estimate the 18-acre lake may have lost three-quarters of its water.

Northwood Meadows Lake, the centerpiece of a little-known state park in Northwood, has drained down to a fraction of its original size, and state officials say it will have to remain so for the time being.

The 18-acre lake started emptying in late July, when a drainage pipe through the base of the earthen dam deteriorated and water started gushing through the pipe, said Steve Doyon, chief safety engineer for the state Dam Bureau.

The state Parks Division estimates the lake may have lost about three-quarters of its water, and Doyon said the 14-foot-tall, 200-foot-long dam is too structurally unsound to refill the lake.

“This is horrible!! The fish that are probably dead!” wrote a member of the Northwood NH Community Chat Facebook page. “This is a devastating site. I can’t believe the state let this happen. Horrible.”

The state had undertaken some stopgap repairs in 2014. But the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which includes the Parks Division, never followed through with a plan to restore the dam, Doyon said.

The lake sits within the 675-acre Northwood Meadows State Park, which is located off Route 4 and used for low-impact activity such as hiking, mountain biking, picnicking and horseback riding. It is unstaffed, meaning an honor system is in place for park users to pay the entrance fee.

Northwood Meadows Lake, Demon Pond and adjacent wetlands form the headwaters of the Lamprey River.

The state Parks Division started receiving reports in late July of the rapid drop in the water level, said spokesman Brent Wucher.

The state classifies the dam as a low-hazard dam, given the size of the impoundment and the fact that little property would be damaged downstream in case of a failure.

The maximum storage capacity is 105 acre-feet of water.

The draining started at the end of one of the wettest Julys in record, which left the water levels of many rivers and water bodies abnormally high for the summer.

“I don’t think it (the rainfall) has helped the situation, but it’s hard to say it caused the problem or was a leading factor,” Wucher said.

Given the age of the corrugated metal piping that forms the drain pipe, officials don’t want to fill the lake unless the work is undertaken to shore up the dam. Such work would involve rebuilding key portions of the dam and replacing the drainage pipe. It would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Doyon said the parts of the drain pipe that he can see appear rusted, and the rush of water out of the pipe likely further eroded the pipe. That means water is seeping into the earthen dam material, causing deterioration from the inside out.

The longer that goes on, the more susceptible the dam is to failure, he said.

“Generally, 30 to 50 years is a lot to ask of a culvert pipe,” Doyon said, adding a culvert-like drain pipe is a common structure in dams built in that era.

The Dam Bureau, an arm of the state Department of Environmental Services, has asked the Parks Division to have an engineer look at the dam and come up with a plan to repair it.

At Northwood town hall, selectmen last week instructed Town Administrator Walter Johnson to contact the state about the nearly empty lake.

“They want it repaired and restored,” Johnson said. He said the park is a favorite area for town residents, and its location off a state highway means it draws visitors from outside the area.

The lake is a big part of the park, and the park is a big factor in the town’s economy, he said.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.

Would you like to receive our daily news?  Signup today!

Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.

Check your email for details.

Invalid password or account does not exist

Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.

An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.

Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.

A receipt was sent to your email.