Sample Comments by Damage Survey Participants
"We are in our mid-60's and do not know how much longer we will be able to do the physically exhausting and terribly expensive repair work the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District keeps imposing on us due to their mismanagement of the lake levels."
***
"I am very disturbed by the lack of appropriate action by the Regulating District in lake-level control this past year. The material loss is one thing, but the massive erosion and undermining of the shoreline on my permit area is heartbreaking. Their rules and regs would probably not allow me to sufficiently fix what they've destroyed. Because of their mismanagement, all of the many yards of soil that washed away from my area is now deposited on the lake bottom."
***
"Boat lift (twisted like a pretzel). I have had a boat lift on the lake for 8 years.... It took me 2 years to save for this lift, and now I can't afford to replace it."
***
"Stones, riprap, stairs and sand installed with a permit in 2002 all washed away in the spring of 2004."
***
"My dock was torn in half and walkway boards ripped up at the barrels."
***
"Allowing the water to rise to such a level so late in the year has never before been experienced by Sacandaga Lake property owners. If there had been some warning, we could have done something to protect our docks. It's difficult to imagine that those responsible for maintaining the water level weren't aware of the consequences of their unprecedented actions! Absolutely inexcusable!"
***
"I have been going there for 55 years and the last few years has caused more damage than the previous 50 put together."
***
"Starting the season with lower water level goals will provide more control than has recently been demonstrated. The situation appears as though the primary goal now is to maximize the water volume and level. Oh -- is that how hydroelectric turbines work best?"
***
"This spring, our 6 x 12-foot dock was torn from its ramp and disappeared. The dock was pulled at least 10 feet up on shore in November 2003 ... but the high water grabbed and the ice tore it apart."
***
"This is my 60th year at the lake. I have never seen the water as high as last year and this year. I, as a widow and on pension and social security, cannot afford such costly repairs."
***
"It was very heartbreaking to watch my property crash against the rocks this fall/winter knowing I could do nothing but stand on the shoreline and watch."
***
"If water levels over the winter are allowed to be this high, this property damage will become an annual event."
***
"Have a new aluminum dock and it was damaged due to high water in January. The tires were ripped from the dock and the dock was twisted and mangled."
***
"My son and I were on the lake risking our lives to recover my father-in-law's floating dock on New Year's Day. The high water levels had lifted the anchor off the bottom, and the dock had floated several hundred yards away and was being destroyed because of contact with the rocky shoreline."
***
"Never have I seen the lake levels this high continuously in 17 years of living here, so much damage. Where are all our local elected politicians when you need them? Sad commentary when a citizen's group needs to take charge."