Although today’s post balances a little good news (low water level) with a little bad news (water damage to boathouse pier), we’re in a far better place today vis-à-vis Lake Champlain’s water level than we’d anticipated last autumn. Whether we use 96.5’ (according to the NGVD 1929 data published by USGS drawing from water levels dating back to 1907) or 96’ (NAVD 1988), the good news is that we seem to have recovered from history challenging high water levels last fall and winter. We even have some of Rosslyn’s beach visible.
That photo above offers more relief than you might imagine. We were so concerned that the waterfront lawn would flood this spring that we transported all of the dock sections to high ground behind the carriage barn and icehouse. That’s not our normal autumn routine. We usually lift the docks up onto the lawn in the photograph above. After spending fall, winter, and spring above the seawall, we relaunch them once the Lake water level falls.
In particular, it was I who drove the overly cautious change in plans last fall. Heading into the end of summer with water levels high and evaporation rates slowing, I thought there’s a fairly good chance we would see spring flooding. And if we had received more snow this past winter, we might well have gambled correctly.  but low levels of precipitation have favored us, and our precaution has not proven necessary. 
That said, it’s a huge relief that we’re not dealing with the flooding.
On the other hand, the next two photographs reveal a definite downside of the many months that Rosslyn’s boathouse endured high water. Look at the hemlock cladding on the north and south side of the pier. Note many missing timbers.
On the one hand, these rough cut (locally harvested and milled) 2” x 6” hemlock timbers have been enduring the elements ever since we rehab’ed the boathouse. So after a decade and a half some degradation of the lumber is inevitable. As the lumber dries out, endures icing and flooding, wide temperature fluctuations, severe winter wave action, often coupled with immense hunks of ice pounding against them for weeks at a time, plus the damage caused by logs and other detritus during the 2011 flood, the wood becomes more susceptible to damage. Submergent for month after month after month – this was the case last summer, fall, and winter – and some of the timbers succumbed. 
Once the water level drops a little further we’ll be able to begin replacing the missing timbers and re-securing the rest. we’ve replaced a few timbers here and there over the years, but this spring will be the most notable maintenance yet.  on the upside? That should make the next few springs a little bit easier! There’s always an upside. 
What do you think?