Lake June Water Level Was Above Normal

Ever took a boat out to Lake June lately? According to one of them, about 150 boaters did one recent weekend.

"I know that sounds a little bit much, like I'm exaggerating, but no sir," said Dave Johnson, who frequently drives from Avon Park to the lake for a mid-week fishing trip. He recently saw cars with boat trailers filling the entire parking lot and the surrounding grass at H. L. Bishop Park.

He knows why they all flock here though. As the other fishing lakes' water levels are still low, Lake June has actually been above where it would normally be for the summer, making it the county's most "boatable" and fishable lake during what's becoming the tail end of a two-year drought.

June's water level was dropped over the weekend to 74.48 feet after the Southwest Florida Water Management District opened the northern flood gate to Jack Creek. Just a couple of weeks ago, Highlands County Lakes Association president Dick Reaney said it reached 74.9 feet, a mere two-tenths of a foot from the natural 10-year-flood stage.

It's a wet contrast to the other lakes in the county right now. While Lake Istokpoga's surface level is about normal for the summer, it normally is only about half as deep as June. Meanwhile, one can still find dry land under most of the docks in Lake Jackson. Lake Placid has come up about a foot the past month but is still low.

Highlands County Assistant Lakes Manager Erin McCarta said Lake Placid and the southern half of the county has had a lot more rain than the northern part since the rainy season began, and Lake June takes a lot of water from Lake Placid, which drains into June through Catfish Creek.

Too Much Of A Good Thing?

The excess water has given Jack Creek residents some problems. When SWFWMD opened the flood gate to lower June's level, the water began flooding some of the neighbors' back yards.

McCarta said she received three or four complaints from the neighborhood last week. She wasn't sure if the creek flooded during the 2004 hurricane season, but Jack Creek never flooded since then until the gate opened last week. Five back yards were flooded last Thursday.

"It's not unprecedented but it is unusual," she said.

This was partially because a lot of vegetation grew downstream in Josephine Creek, blocking part of the flow. McCarta said the county and SWFWMD were working on a plan to deal with it.

The Jack Creek flooding aside, Reaney was also concerned that the lake never sunk below 73 feet since the 2000-2001 drought, except for a short period in 2006 where it was "a tap below" that level.

When lake levels drop and then fill back up, the water quality usually improves and becomes clearer because of the fluctuation. The boaters may love it though, he said.

They love it too much, Johnson suggested. As he fixed the padding on his boat trailer, he complained that all the boats in the lake during the weekend disrupt the fishing, forcing him to wait until a time like Monday morning, when only three boat trailers and a barbecue grill were seen in the park.

"This drought didn't just affect Highlands County," Johnson said as he explained the large number of boats he normally sees at the lake. "One day I took my kids out to the 'Glades just so they can catch fish. We caught two fish here, 17 in the 'Glades."