2023 Fall Issue

34
HISTORY
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fall 2023
Drawdowns Through
the Years
by MARTY KANE
Photos courtesy
of the
LAKE HOPATCONG
HISTORICAL
MUSEUM
This year heralds a quinquennial event at
Lake Hopatcong—yes, something that
occurs every five years—the 5-foot drawdown of
the lake.
For some, dropping the lake
level is a long-awaited event in
which to attack dock, seawall and
boathouse repairs. For others, it is
an occurrence looked upon with
dread that the lake will not refill
sufficiently by spring.
The drawing down of the lake
after the season has a long history
at Lake Hopatcong going back some
100 years to the abandonment of
the Morris Canal.
Lake Hopatcong is the source or
headwaters of the Musconetcong
River. As such, enough water must
come from the lake to keep
the river flowing.
The natural flow has been
altered and controlled by the
construction of dams at the
southern end of the lake (at
the site of Hopatcong State
Park) commencing in the
1750s. The dam built for the
Morris Canal during the 1820s
and enlarged in 1840 raised
Lake Hopatcong’s water level
to what we know today.
As the largest single source of water for
the canal, Lake Hopatcong had to supply
a significant amount of water to keep
the canal navigable. The water required
for the canal exceeded by several times
the amount needed today to keep the
Musconetcong River flowing.
As Lake Hopatcong began to develop
as a resort in the 1880s, the Morris
Canal became a major issue as residents
and visitors often had to avoid certain
parts of the lake by August due to low
water. Between 1892 and 1912, the lake
averaged some 20 inches below high
Top to bottom: The view from Halsey Island to Raccoon Island during the 8-foot drawdown of 1948.
King Cove during the 7-foot drawdown of 1959. The remains of the former Nolan’s Point ore dock as
seen from the Jefferson House during the 2004 drawdown. The remains of the gate for the outer lock
of the Morris Canal as seen in Hopatcong State Park during the 2013 drawdown.
water by August. The particularly dry summers
of 1905, 1912 and 1923 found the lake down some
40 inches. While it is hard to imagine the lake at
such low levels in the middle of summer, it does
explain why older docks at Lake Hopatcong were
built considerably lower than docks built today,
reflecting how the general level of the lake in
summer averaged significantly lower than today.
When the Morris Canal was abandoned in
1924, most lake residents thought the lake would
never again face the problem of low lake levels
in summer. It was reasoned that without the
tremendous demand of the canal, a high-water
level could be maintained continuously in Lake
Hopatcong.
However, while the abandonment of the Morris
Canal greatly alleviated the lake’s water problems,
it did not end them entirely. Over the years, the
lake has shown it is still susceptible to drought,
and in drier summers can be down 12 inches or
more by Labor Day. During the mid-1930s, Lake
Hopatcong failed to reach its high-water mark
for several years and in the summer of 1935 it was
down 30 inches.
When the Morris Canal operated, there were
no regularly scheduled winter drawdowns of the
lake. The canal authorities simply had the lake
dropped in the offseason when necessary for
repairs to the canal lock and dam.
The concept of winter drawdowns of the lake
started as a recommendation of the engineers
who managed the abandonment work for the
canal in 1924. They concluded that ice flow
damage to boathouses and docks would be
lessened if Lake Hopatcong was lowered each fall.
This led to lowering the lake by 30 inches annually
at the end of the season, a policy that remained
in effect until 1990 when the annual drawdown
was deemed sufficient at 26 inches. The state is
currently experimenting with a 22-inch normal
drawdown.
While an annual drawdown of the lake began
with the abandonment of the canal, these yearly
events were not sufficient enough to allow
most lake residents to perform major dock or
boathouse repairs.
The August 18, 1934 edition of the Lake
Hopatcong Breeze reported that “a determined
effort is being made by several organizations
and residents about the lake to have the lake
level lowered considerably after Labor Day to
permit property owners to repair their docks and
clean up beaches, waterfronts, shore walls...It is
the opinion of most lake residents that the lake
should significantly be drawn down in the late fall
about once in every five years. This would permit
property owners to make repairs and would give
much needed work to local labor.” [The labor
aspect was important as this was the middle of
the Great Depression.]
The state of New Jersey agreed to this request
and the lake was dropped 5 feet in 1934 and again
in 1939. No drawdowns occurred during World
War II and by 1948 many docks and structures
needed significant work.