Special to the Times Vedette
The Lake Panorama Association (LPA) reported early this morning that the water level on the lake is currently 18 inches below the normal pool.
Early this morning, the LPA dam experienced a malfunction in its control system that caused the dam gate to lower and discharge a substantial amount of water. This malfunction was corrected around 4:30 a.m. The LPA says the dam gate has been raised all the way up and is locked in place.
Lake Panorama is currently returning to normal pool level, although the LPA says the timing of the recovery may be slow. LPA is also in the process of obtaining the necessary parts and making repairs to ensure this problem does not reoccur. Meanwhile, boaters are advised to use extreme caution while boating, as the lower lake level will expose a number of underwater hazards that are not a concern when the lake is at full pool. Some boaters may also struggle to get their boats off their lifts until the lake returns to normal levels.
The LPA’s initial assessment indicates this malfunction is unrelated to LPA’s planned replacement of the dam cylinders. The assessment will be revisited to confirm the issue is limited to the control system in the dam control house. The LPA confirmed that the issue was brought to attention in real-time by alarms associated with the USGS river and lake gauges, which the LPA funds for this purpose.