Category Archives: Updates

Lake Drawdown Delay

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Historically, we have begun the lake drawdown on November 1st.  As part of a pre-release inspection, we discovered the culvert under West Greenville Road is 90% blocked with debris.  If we were to release water, it is likely it would overflow West Greenville Road within hours if not minutes.

While CPWL is not responsible for fixing this problem, we are impacted by it, and it will affect the drawdown timetable slightly.

Bob Eaton and Phil Viall met with a response team of Smithfield officials Thursday afternoon, including Emergency Management, Fire, Police, Public Works, Town Engineer, and Town Manager.  As West Greenville Road is a state road, they will coordinate with the RI Department of Transportation in the cleaning of this culvert.

There was concern on the part of officials that if any downstream culverts are blocked, road wash out might be a problem downstream when the West Greenville Road culvert is cleared, and a sudden rush of water is released.

This problem will hopefully be resolved next week, and we will begin releasing water as we have historically.  We will notify the membership before we begin the drawdown.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email cpwl@cpwl.org

Annual Fall Meeting – Wednesday, Oct. 30th

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Our Annual Fall Meeting will be held on October 30, 2024. NOTE that we are meeting in a NEW LOCATION: The Lakes, 720 Putnam Pike. People may gather beginning at 6:30 p.m. for light refreshments, and the meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. Carpooling is encouraged, as there is limited parking.

We will have our usual reports, as well as updates to several items. Come and see what goes on behind the scenes at CPWL

Hope to see you there!

Algae Bloom – Treatment Update

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Water and Wetlands Inc. treated the lake on Monday morning, August 19th, with Copper Sulfate to eradicate the Cyanobacteria algae bloom.  The treatment took about three hours.

There is no waiting period after treatment. Residents can resume all aquatic activities immediately (i.e. feel free to swim, boat, fish, etc., as you wish).

The proactive approach the Executive Committee adopted late last year worked well.  From the first positive test from DEM until the lake was treated was 10 days.  The permitting process takes 45 days; hence, that is why we began the process much earlier this year.  While 10 days s is longer than we would have liked, the lake is safe again.  We are discussing ways to shorten the lag time even more if this should happen again next summer.

Water and Wetlands, Inc. gave us a short report on their activities.  The report has also been added to the “Reports” section on our Documents page.

Temporary Slalom Ski Course

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If you’ve been on the lake the last few days, you may have noticed a line of buoys running parallel to Route 44. These buoys do not represent any navigational hazard. They are being used as a temporary slalom ski course, which has been set up with permission from CPWL. All skiers and wakeboarders are welcome to practice on the course but we ask that you do so with caution and be respectful of other watercraft in the area. Additionally, boaters enjoying the lake after dark should be mindful of the buoys to ensure that their vessels don’t get entangled with the buoy’s anchor lines. It is recommended that you navigate either close to the shoreline or the little island when passing through the area after sunset. If you have any questions or concerns about the slalom course, please email us at CPWL@CPWL.org.
On a related note… we have received reports of boaters towing tube riders well after dark. While we understand the appeal of enjoying the lake on these hot and humid evenings, water sports including tubing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, etc. after dark is not safe and not allowed on the lake per CPWL rules. Please also note that per RI DEM regulations, the use of personal watercraft (jet skies) is prohibited between 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise. We want everyone to enjoy a safe summer and we ask that all boaters do their part by following these common-sense rules and we thank you in advance for doing your part to ensure an accident-free summer on the lake.

2024 Spring Meeting

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Members of CPWL are encouraged to attend our spring meeting this Wednesday, May 22nd. The doors open at 6:30 pm with the meeting starting at 7 pm. The Social Committee will be serving refreshments giving everyone the opportunity to mingle with each other and the members of the Board. We hope to have a great turnout for this important meeting and look forward to your help in outlining plans for a fun and productive summer on the lake! See you Wednesday!

DEM Guide to Assist in Managing Growing Canadian Geese Populations

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Resident Canada geese have become year-round residents of Waterman Lake and their numbers have increased greatly. Lake residents may encounter problems with large numbers of geese on their lawns, roads, and in the lake.

To learn more, download this guide from the Rhode Island DEM.

The document is designed to provide the public with tools to avoid and/or mitigate resident goose issues within their community and provide the public with an understanding of Rhode Island’s current Canada goose management plan.

 

 

Temporary Change to Lake Level

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We have received several requests to drop water levels from people who need to do repairs, and have been unable to because of the large amount of rain (9” in March) resulting in high water levels.

Starting today (3/30), and over the next four to five days, we will be lowering the water levels. Beginning next weekend (4/6), we will begin to raise the water level at the normal seasonal rate. Depending on rainfall, boating should be available shortly after that. We have a target date of “lake full” of May 15th.

Lake water levels are on the rise again

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The water level should rise to the normal drawdown height of between 60” and 72” below the spillway (or full level) over the next couple of weeks.  It should remain at that height until March 25th, when we will begin bringing the lake up to “full”.

As we told you in December, we needed the water level down about seven feet to evaluate the leakage through the dam.  Due to all of the excess rain, it took far longer to get the lake down to that level than anticipated.

While the water was down, we also did an inspection of the gatehouse, including the plates and tracks that the plates fit into.  Several plates needed the guides rewelded and this was done as well.  The concrete pit floor (where water dumps when it flows over the plates) had some scouring (erosion) which will need to be addressed at some point in the future.

With the water level so low, the leak had nearly stopped.  We will continue to monitor the leak as the lake fills up; this will give us additional data regarding possible fixes.

For any questions, please email us at cpwl@cpwl.org