White Lake Property Owners Association
Water Levels over the Years
Water Levels have been very low since the summer of 2005, which is quite a contrast from the high levels of the 1980s. Scroll down for some photos illustrating this change, but first some information about how lake levels are measured at White Lake.
Water levels on White Lake are measured by how many feet the surface of the lake is above sea level. Typically it has been seven hundred and ninety-something. The readings are usually reported as ninety-something, which confused me until I found it explained in the meeting minutes of the 1998 Annual Meeting. We definitely have better data than this, but I don't have it to post yet, so here are the levels reported in the last several Annual Meeting Minutes.
94.44' - June 2011
94.77' - May 2009
94.69' - April 2009
94.13' - November 2008
93.93' - June 2008 (Up an entire foot after flooding rains in early June!)
92.92' - April 2008
92.15' - Oct 2007
92.43' - Sept 2006
93.81' - July 2005
94.1' - July 2004
94' - July 2002
93.75' - July 2001
93.2' - July 1999
93.8' (793.8 feet above sea level.) - March 1998
The highest recording in the lake data we have is from May 1987 at 97.73.
A graph showing water levels from 1986 - 2004 is on page 5 of the May 2005 Newsletter. As you have no doubt noticed, changes in a foot or so of lake levels can result in a drastic change in beach exposed and lake surface area. Check out the photos below to see how one beach has varied over the years. There are some additional comparisons of Buck's Point, Scharenberg's Resort and the Point (duck blind) here.
Photo Essay 1: The Elfner Beach. Stairs are in the same spot in all 3 photos.
May 2007 - Plenty of room to walk around the lake and keep your feet dry.
June 1984 - A dry walk around the lake was impossible. Several cottages were threatened and/or damaged by the high water levels. Here's another view from summer 1985.
August 1970 - A whole lot of beach to play around in. This is what I remember from my childhood (in fact I'm pretty sure that's my head at the bottom of the photo.) The stairs are way back under the right side of the tent.
Water Levels just west of the Point (courtesy of Jill Guzzetta)
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Last Updated by Eric Elfner June 2008 (What's New?)
