Lakeside property still in danger

Water levels on Rainy Lake and Namakan continue to drop but homeowners are warned their property still could be damaged by excessive water.
“They’ve been doing quite well so far,” Rick Walden, engineering advisor for the International Rainy Lake Board of Control, said Tuesday morning.
Namakan is down to 340.88 m (1,118.37 ft) at last report—just eight cm above its upper rule curve.
Rainy Lake is still 50 cm above its upper rule curve at 338.24 m (1,109.71 ft), but is significantly lower than its peak of 338.56 m (1,110.77 ft) recorded on June 27.
“They’ve both been dropping quite steadily at roughly three cm a day,” Walden noted.
“The hot, dry weather combined with lack of rain has allowed in-flows to continue to decline. We’ve been very fortunate at the lack of rainfall,” he added.
Walden estimated Namakan would be back to normal levels in a few days—and that less water flowing into Rainy Lake would help it return to normal faster.
“It’s very dependent on rainfall but it will still be several weeks before Rainy Lake levels drop completely,” he warned.
And while water levels continue to drop, Walden still urged homeowners and boaters to be cautious.
“We know a number of people have suffered additional damage to their property or docks because people have been boating nearer to the shore with higher water levels,” Walden said.
“They have been creating boat wakes and not realizing the damage those wakes are causing.”