Lenape Lake to be lowered on November 20

The letter below was distrubuted by the Townships Public Works Director.

October 29, 2007

To: All Lake Lenape Lakefront Residents

Lenape Lake will be lowered on November 20, 2007 to allow lakefront residents to perform maintenance and clean-up activities.
Due to the fish-spawning season, the lake will be raised to the normal elevation on February 28, 2008.
If there are questions or concerns in this matter, please call the Public Works office, 625-6311 Ext. 495.

Thank You,
William L. Montag IV
Director of Public Works

County closes on deal for 17.5-acre Lake Lenape Park

Click here to read....

To see forward sometimes you need to look back

How Walter Hoagland Ran The Dam

The piece below was submitted by Betty Gale. In it she reflects on the tried and true method her Granddad, Walter Hoagland implemented when operating the Lake Lenape dam gates during an estimated timeframe of 1930-1952. He tended the dam until the Wheaton family bought the Cotton Mill and the site became Wheaton Plastics Co. Walter retired from Wheaton's after suffering a stroke at the Cotton Mill during the March 1962 nor'easter which ravaged the East Coast. Thanks goes to Aline Dix for getting this piece and clarifying the information.

All the years that Granddad (Walter Hoagland) took care of the dam nothing like this flooding ever happened. He used to drive to Weymouth and measure the depth of the water with a stick he had in the water, then there was some kind of meter on a board near the river that measured how fast the water was moving. Also a temperature gauge was there. It looked an electric meter looks today. Knowing Granddad (Walter Hoagland) it may have been an old one that he converted. Then we would drive back home (on Lenape Ave.) and he would sit in the back shed on his stool with a big old cigar and he would have figures, very neatly done, on papers. Then he would yell to Mema.... (His wife Jane Hoagland) "Janie, I am going to the mill". He would then open or close the gates for the dam according to his figures. Many times I was with him either in Weymouth or at the mill or sometimes both. We never had a flood and most of the time the lake never varied in height unless it was a really dry summer or in the early spring when he let it down so the lakeshores could be cleaned!!

Lots of good memories from this little bit!!
Thanks...Betty Gale, Granddaughter

Fire Strikes Historic Wheatons Factory

Below are images captured by Rick Gorbig from the shore of Lake Lenape and from a boat in the lake along with others from various local news outlets.


Video from local news channels.
NBC 40 (Atlantic City)

CBS 3 (Philadelphia)


CBS 3 Chopper (Philadelphia)


Chopper 6 ABC(Philadelphia)

Public Works Director responds to lake water loss concerns.

Below is Township of Hamilton Public Works Director Bill Montag response as to why the lake level was rapidly decreasing a few week ago.

"I have been looking into the reasoning why the lake was dropping so much. I forwarded our concerns to the county and they acted upon it. They were able to close the powerhouse gates more than they were. These gates were open during the flood and possibly not closed correctly. The county rectified the problem and we have held the same water level since Friday (8/31/07). This might not have been the sole reason but some of the cause."

He also indicated in a second email that the county owns the power house and controlls the gates within it.

Why did the lake level drop 5 inches in seven days?

Please take a look at the lake level / dam spillway log for August on the right, you will notice that once the spillway level receded to 0" and water stopped spilling over the dam the lake level held steady at between -5.5" and -6.5" below normal depth for 10 days. It is my belief that at this point the only natural variable that would cause the lake level to go down would be evaporation. Beginning Aug 13th lake level began to decline at the rate of 1" a day with all gates closed. This is obviously way to fast for evaporation, and should be setting off flags that there may be issues with the integrity of the dam and/or dam gates. I don't recall the lake level ever declining at such a rate with the gates closed.

From the Twp of Hamilton website "Attention Waterfront Residents 7/27/07 - Please be aware that the water level of the lake is slowly going down. This is occurring on its own and is not an act from the County or the Township. We believe that the water is going down due to the lack of rain and high temperatures from the summer heat. All three gates are closed and there are no plans in the immediate future to open them."

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who operates the dam?
A: Hamilton Township Public Works, The Director of Public works is Bill Montag he can be contacted at (609)625-6311 x200 or email BMontag@townshipofhamilton.com.

Q:Does the lake get lowered? If so when and for how long?
A: Quote from Public Works Director "I will be putting in for a lake lowering permit in September to the NJ Fish and Game. The dates will be the same as last year, November 1 to February 28. The NJFWS will not let me go past the date of February 28 due to the fact that the fish start spawning in Mid-March. In the past the Township only put a permit in for 30 days but I feel that doesn't give the residents a big enough window to be able clean around their property. And also with the trouble with the gates it will take a while to get the water level down."