Roach river flows

 
By Tim Obrey
Moosehead Lake Regional Fisheries Biologist

GREENVILLE — We typically get a lot of calls this time of year asking about the September flows in the Roach River. Our water management plan states that will open the gates on the dam on the Tuesday after Labor Day. In years where we have had excess water (i.e. the lake is above 6.5 feet), we’ve been able to let water go a little early.

This year we are at 6.0 feet and will wait until Sept. 8 to start the release to ensure we have enough water to keep the high flows in the river through the entire month and to allow camp owners/boaters on the lake to enjoy the last holiday weekend of the summer.

After we open the gates, the lake elevation in First Roach Pond will drop about 1.2 inches per day for the first two weeks (assuming little or no rain). We typically increase the river flows for the last two weeks of the month and the lake will drop even faster after we make that gate setting. Camp owners should keep this in mind when planning for dock and boat removal.