PART IV. LAKE-WATER RESOURCES 



Most lakes in the Ashuelot River Basin as well as in all of southern New 

 Hampshire are hydrologically separated from rivers by dams. A few lakes were 

 created entirely by the strategic placement of one or more dams. Recreation 

 lakes are under an administrative structure that regulates the dam gates to main- 

 tain the height of the lake for recreational purposes. The Surry Mountain Dam 

 was constructed for flood prevention purposes. It is now a multi-purpose dam 

 providing both flood prevention and a small lake for recreation. Aside from the 

 Surry Mountain Dam, most recreation lakes are located in the headwaters of the 

 Ashuelot River or one of its tributaries draining into the Ashuelot River. 



In dry years very little water passes over or through the dam structure on 

 recreation lakes. In years of high rainfall, overflow is observable. The height of 

 the recreation lake is maintained, within limits, in both cases. The surplus over- 

 flow is reflected in river flow for the month. The recreation lake is almost 

 independent of river-flow level. 



Dams used to create reservoirs for water supply and for flood control are 

 discussed elsewhere in this report. Many dams were built for some now defunct 

 reason and now provide only wildlife habitats. 



4.1 Lake Resources in the Ashuelot River Basin 



Lakes of more than ten acres in the river basin contained 3,020 water-surface 

 acres, with 363,000 feet of shoreline. Along the shore, a 1,000-foot strip of 

 land provided some 8,340 acres for recreational and/or conservation uses, either 

 public or private. In the northern reaches of the basin, Pillsbury State Park and 

 Surry Mountain Park occupied some 4,400 acres of recreational area and 78,000 

 feet of lake shore. Public park resources were identified separately from private 

 resources. 



From adjusted actual counts of recreation cottages, there were 431 shore 

 cottages and 242 non-shore cottages required in the analysis to reflect current 

 resource use. The model permitted choices of six different boat- and lot-size 

 cottage combinations for shore properties, and two non-shore combinations. A 

 minimum of 215, 40-horsepower equivalent outboard motorboats was also 

 required in the analysis. Similarly, a minimum of private and public camping 

 sites was required to reflect the current situation for tenting with access to 

 water and tenting without access to water. Beach and boat launching facilities 

 were available, and the size of automobile parking facilities provided a basis 

 for estimating minimum use. 



4.2 Results: Lake and Related Land-Resource Use 



Those who during the day used beach and non-shore vacation cottages with- 

 out access to water were large users of lake resources and, to a large extent, set 

 the economic base for lake-oriented land and water-resource use. Both were in 

 the programmed results by about a multiple of 20 of current levels. A practical 

 meaning can be attached to this high level of use because it substitutes for 

 discounting future returns for holding the shoreline and recreation area re- 

 sources at near present levels and describes potential future development. 



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