Georgetown Lake Homeowners Association
Announcements
The GLHA 2024 Summer Luncheon was help held at the Fire House on Fire Lane, Saturday, August, 10 2024 at 12:00 Noon. If you have questions, comments or concerns please contact the Georgetown Lake Homeowners Association at G.L.H.A.INC@outlook.com.
Invited Guest Speakers:
Cameron Rasor District Ranger for the Pintler Ranger District
88 Business Loop
Philipsburg, MT 59858
Phone:(406) 859-3211
Cameron discussed the role of the Forest Service as a resource management agency. Other agencies have road maintenance and construction as part of their mission. That said, Cameron has been working with the Granite County Commissioners to resolve issues with Lakeshore Drive.
Brad Balis, FWP Bear Management Technician, Region 2 Wildlife, Office Phone: 406.542.5500
Cell Phone: 406.465.9343
Email: Brad.Balis@mt.gov
FWP.MT.GOV
https://fwp.mt.gov/conservation/wildlife-management/bear/be-bear-aware
Brad spoke about bears in the area. Most of the bear problems occur due to garbage being left unattended. This time of year the bears are trying to put on fat for the winter. Please secure your trash or carry it with you when you leave. The main attractants for bears are garbage, pet food, bird feeders and bird seed. It is our responsibility to keep attractants away from bears. Also, please secure your barbecue by putting it in a shed or in your garage when you leave.
Dan Villa, new board member, spoke to the group and announced his candidacy for the Granite County Commission.
Fred Bjorkland 406.560.3260, spoke about the increasing responsibilities of the Georgetown Lake Volunteer Fire Department. He also pointed out that volunteers are needed.
Click Here to View the GLHA Luncheon Brochure
Services
Georgetown Lake Volunteer Fire Department
The fire hall can now host your community events including meetings and weddings. Please contact Fred to discuss your ideas as to how you might use the fire hall.
Fred Bjorklund, Fire Chief
406-560-3260
Anaconda Sheriff Dept
Please call 911 if a crime is in progress, someone is hurt or threatened, a weapon has been used or is present, or for any other emergency situation.
If you have an emergency. please dial 911
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
Phone: 911
The Lake
GEORGETOWN LAKE UPDATE – November 19, 2024
Current Lake Elevation 6428.06 (PROVISIONAL DATA from USGS gage 12325000)
The water surface elevation is below average for this time of year, based on 80 years’ worth of lake elevation data.
Based on MDT Highway webcam photos (on 11/20/2024) the lake is not frozen but starting to develop ice on the edges.
Elevation and Inputs
Lake elevation in October was lower than recent years except for 2021 and 2022. This fall has seen much lower than normal inflows to the lake, particularly since July. The lake level continued to decline until the end of irrigation flows in October. Since the end of the irrigation season flows on October 15, the lake level has slowly been rising. Inflows for October were better than this summer but slightly less than September and well below the long-term average. The lake lost 423 acre-ft of storage last month. October average monthly outflows of 17.2 cfs were more than inflows making the average total lake inputs equal to 10.3 cfs. The inflows were 45% of normal for October.
Estimated daily inflows in September and October were again low enough that net inputs to the lake were near zero for a good portion of September (meaning evaporation and seepage were higher than surface inflows). In October, the inflows steadily increased. The first two weeks of November have seen significant improvement in inflows, with some as high as 80% of normal for this time of year. The net inputs are estimated between 13 and 17 cfs since November 1.
Precipitation
The Peterson Meadows SNOTEL site accumulated 1.2 inches (67% of normal) in September and 1.5 inches (75% of normal) in October. About half an inch of October precipitation at Peterson Meadows fell as snow which is normal for October. Currently, the SNOTEL is showing 1.9 inches of snow. The Warm Springs SNOTEL site, which gives an idea of the higher elevation precipitation conditions, accumulated 2.9 inches of precipitation (132% of normal) in September and 1.5 inches (44% of normal) in October. About half an inch of October precipitation fell as snow at Warm Springs as well which is below normal for October. As of today, Warm Springs is reading 2.9 inches of snow (above normal).
Climate Forecast
The latest CPC climate forecast (created October 31, 2024) shows average air temperatures and above average precipitation for the 1-month outlook. A slight chance of above normal precipitation is also predicted for the 3-month outlook. The 1-week forecast for Philipsburg shows temps with highs in the 30-40’s and lows below freezing. There is a significant chance of precipitation over the next 6-days.
Model Forecast
It was brought to my attention there was an error in my previous November 20, 2024 Georgetown Lake Model run. In the previous update report the outflows were set to 15 cfs which are not consistent with the requirements of the FERC license. Also, after feedback from the Flint Creek Dam Advisory Committee, it was decided that a model should be developed in which variable inflow percentages can be used.
I have made the following changes and re-run the model:
-
Reconfigured the Model so that individual monthly inflow percentages can be used, better capturing the month-to-month inflow variability compared to the old model which used one inflow percentage for the entire year.
-
Changed the winter outflows to 10 cfs to be consistent with the FERC license which states “…release the lesser of 10 cfs or inflows to Georgetown Lake at all other times.”
The following forecast plot shows the predicted lake level with these changes included. Notice at the bottom of the graph, along with the outflow, there is a new entry for inflow % which tells what percent of historic inflows were used for that month. I chose percentages consistent with the conditions that have developed this year. However, the inflows have been very unpredictable in the late summer early fall going from near record low to somewhere in the moderate range and back to less that average. If the inflows are similar to the modeled forecast this winter, the outflows presented meet all the FERC requirements including the 10 cfs outflow, getting to 6428.5 or greater by May 31, and minimizing winter lake level fluctuations.
Todd Blythe, Montana DNRC; Water Sciences Bureau; 406-438-0717; todd.blythe@mt.gov
Wildlife
Protecting Montana's Waters
John O'Bannon AIS Area Supervisor for Southwest Montana, with the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks AIS Bureau, Presented a slide show on protecting Montana's lakes, rivers and streams from invasive mussels, snails and fish at the August Georgetown Lake Homeowners Association meeting and BBQ.
For more information please contact:
John O'Bannon
406.210.5054
john.o'bannon@mt.gov
cleandraindrymt.com
To help stop the spread of invasive aquatic species:
1. Help spread the Clean, Drain, Dry message
2. Boats traveling on the Interstate should be inspected prior to launch
3. Aquarium dumping must be STOPPED! Aquariums fish and plants can cause serious damage to our lakes and streams.
Help Protect Our Bears
-
Help us prevent conflicts with bears around Georgetown Lake. People and Carnivores is available to help any resident with information and resources on how to reduce the chance for conflicts with bears at your home and in your neighborhood.
-
For information on resources including bear-resistant garbage canisters, contact Kim Johnston, large carnivore specialist, 406-599-9424 or email kjohnston@peopleandcarnivores.org
-
Visit www.peopleandcarnivores.org/bearsmart to learn more.
At Home Bear Safety Toolkit
We developed one toolkit for Homeowners & Residents in Bear Country with a flyer with bear aware information, a bear-safe property checklist, information on where to get bear-resistant garbage canisters and other resources to reduce conflicts with bears.
Vacation Rentals in Bear Country toolkit
We also created a toolkit for vacation rental properties, that has information for the property owner along with materials they can put in the rental for their guests with reminders to not leave attractants outside. We've seen a growing number of vacation rental properties where guests are leaving coolers on the porch and leaving the trash cans overflowing and not locking the lids, even when they have bear-resistant cans. We created stickers to go on the bear cans with a reminder for guests to keep them locked and not overfill, along with a magnet and other materials with helpful tips.
Montana Sport Fish Consumption Guidelines
What you need to know about Mercury, PCBs, and other contaminants when fishing in Montana. This guide provides information about how to enjoy healthy meals from wild fish caught in Montana.
It provides specific scientific data about the water bodies which have been tested, plus more general information for areas that have not yet been tested.
-
For more information contact Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks
-
For information on collection and laboratory testing of fish from Montana waters, call MT Fish, Wildlife and Parks at 406-444-2449.
-
For information on the health risks of eating fish, call MT Health & Human Services 406-444-2837 or email: HHSFCS@mt.gov.
-
Or visit the MFWP website at www.fwp.mt.gov/fishing
Gallery
What does the Georgetown Lake Homeowner’s Association do for our community?
-
Water Management: We are on a committee that advises Granite County on lake management. We cosponsored and participated in a Clean Lake Study to assure our lake is healthy. It is!
-
Homeowners at the lake wanted a “soft touch” zoning or development rules so we guided that process through meeting and hearings until that was achieved. ( 3 years).
-
Wildlife Management issues: We work closely with FWP and other groups to address wildlife issues in our area. This includes public presentations and promoting good management practices such as bear proof garbage cans.
-
We support the Georgetown Lake Fire Department with equipment donations and funding for equipment for the Emergency Response Unit.
-
We have had a member sit on the Granite County Planning Board to guide development at the lake.
-
GLHA holds two meetings at the lake every year to keep members informed of current issues. There are usually speakers from various agencies to inform us on topics of interest.
-
GLHA has a representative sit on the Granite County Watershed Committee. This group is designed to preserve and protect the watershed including Georgetown Lake. They also promote maintaining our rural lifestyle.
-
GLHA also shares in the cost of maintaining a USGS flow gauge on Flint Creek. This measures the water coming out of Georgetown Lake on a real time basis. This enables us to monitor management of the reservoir by Granite County.
-
GLHA offers a $1,000.00 reward for information leading to arrest and conviction of person or persons damaging a member’s property.
-
We welcome new members to help us with these endeavors. The cost of membership is $50. You can send a check to GLHA, PO Box 643 , Anaconda, Montana 59711. Include your address at the lake and for future mailings, email is appreciated also.