Homeowners on Lake Orion are wondering why the level of the lake seemed so low during the late summer months.
One councilman, Douglas Dendel, thinks Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources bottom draw down tube is probably the culprit.
LO Village Manager JoAnn Van Tassel said the DNR was contacted and she was told the tube was closed up.
The tube was built in 60 feet of water off Green’s Park on M-24. It pulls colder water from the bottom of the lake and transports it into Paint Creek. The cooler water creates a better habitat for trout.
According to a 1990 agreement between the DNR/village, water has to be flowing over the dam. If it’s not, the bottom draw down tube must be shut off.
Dendel has physically checked the dam and it’s his estimate the water level is about four inches from the top of the dam
“It’s always at the lip of the dam if it’s (water level) normal. The springs keep it up. It only changes if a (dam) block is missing).”
“I saw that it (the tube) wasn’t shut down totally. Maybe they have to keep it open slightly,” he said. “A problem could be if it’s shut off, the creek could dry up.”
According to Jerry Richards, a member of the Lake Orion Lake Association, it’s his understanding the operation of the tube was turned over to the village to regulate the flow.
Van Tassel said she was told by John Ranville, DPW director, that the DNR controls the tube action, not the village.
An article written in The Lake Orion Review on Jan. 31, 1990, indicated that the agreement included a statement that “if and when the operation of the tube is turned over to the village, it will be subject to the approval of the (village) council”
Van Tassel believes that no council action ever took place.