Lake Commission Answers Resident's Questions

A 24-year Lake Hopatcong resident who is new to Lake Hopatcong Commission meetings had a wealth of questions for the commission at Monday night’s meeting, mainly regarding the water level of the lake during Hurricane Irene.

Tim Meredith wanted to know who made the decision to lower the lake in preparation for Irene’s arrival.

“We made the request, but the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), specifically the division of parks and forestry, okayed our request,” said Donna Macalle-Holly, administrator of the commission.

Meredith wanted to know how the decision was made on how many inches to bring the lake down.

“The parks superintendent had hoped to take the lake down by six inches,” Holly said. “However, because the state park was closed on Saturday (Aug. 27) at 6 p.m. for a state of emergency, everyone had to leave the park and the gates had to be closed off. At that point, it was down about 3-4 inches.”

Commissioner Kerry Kirk Pflugh added that the lake could only be lowered until the Musconetong River was just shy of flood stage.

“Once you reach flood stage downstream of the dam, you have to stop releasing water, Pflugh said. “You can’t flood the communities downstream.”

Fnally, Meredith inquired about state police presence on the lake.

“I’ve noticed that the police are not monitoring the lake the way they used to,” Meredith said. “The vast majority of people abide by the laws, but it’s the few that don’t that really wreak havoc.”

Commissioner Dan McCarthy said that if Meredith or any resident sees something that they know is against the law, they should call the police.

“Remember that it’s the Newark Bay station that is responsible for Lake Hopatcong And you need to ask them to document the call,” McCarthy said. “Then they will take all the information and look into the complaint.”