22-02-2025
Bay County officials to close Deer Point drawdown gates
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Bay County officials are preparing to close the Deer Point Dam drawdown gates on March 5.
Deer Point Lake's normal elevation is about five feet.
The gates opened in November, lowering it to two feet, and during freezing weather, it can fall an additional six inches.
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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recommends the drawdown and it's been down for decades.
'So, the purpose of the drawdown is to help control the vegetation in the reservoir and Deer Point. So, the goal is to keep the coverage of the vegetation down as low as possible. From a recreational standpoint, you know, people trying to boat in the lake it can, you know, clog up stuff on your boat missile or boat engine but from the water treatment side of things, we have to pull the organics, which is grass and stuff like that out of the water during the treatment process. So, it makes the treatment process a little easier for us,' Bay County Water Division Superintendent Sean Lathrop said.
After last month's historic snowstorm and cold temperatures. The drawdown is expected to be a success. The freezing temperatures kill the overgrown and invasive vegetation around our waterways.
'The hope is with the way the cold weather snap that came in is really going to affect the growth. And with that being exposed, the root systems will be killed off. And then with the reservoir coming back up at this time, that will keep it cleaner edge to Deer Point,' Commissioner Doug Moore said.
The weed removal also helps protect the county's drinking water and the drawdown is beneficial to residents on the lake.
'On the homeowner side of things that give people a chance to repair any seawalls or docks that they have issues with, you know, cleaning up for a homeowner is also available to do this for this time,' Lathrop said.
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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation will have detailed results on the impact of the drawdown by the beginning of the summer.
Officials say once the gates close, it will take five to seven days for the lake to return to normal water level.
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