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Two Michigan Department of Natural Resources boating access sites on Otter Lake in Houghton County will be affected by a county dam repair project set to begin Tuesday, Aug. 2.
Of the two DNR boating access sites on the 890-acre lake, the Otter Lake Dam Boating Access Site is situated near the dam work site, on the northeast side of lake, at the source of the Sturgeon River.
The second DNR boat launch is located at the southwest end of Otter Lake.
John Pekkala, Houghton County drain commissioner, informed the DNR this morning the lake will be drawn down a total of 2.5 feet, with no more than 6 inches of water let out of the dam each day.
To lower the water level, three stop logs will be removed from the dam.
“After the repair and inspection of the dam has been completed, the stop logs will be replaced and the lake will begin to refill,” Pekkala said in a public notice. “The total time for the drawdown, inspection, repair and refill shall not exceed 90 days.”
During the work, the Otter Lake Dam Boating Access Site will be closed.
“Contractors performing the repair work on the dam will be using most of the area next to the access site,” said Dan Dowdy, a DNR unit supervisor based in Baraga. “For safety reasons, we need to put a temporary closure on this site.”
Meanwhile, the drawdown of the water level of Otter Lake will likely have an eventual impact on boaters using the second boat launch at the southwest end of the lake.
“This launch site will remain open, but we are urging boaters to use caution during the period of lowered water levels,” Dowdy said.
Otter Lake is one of the DNR’s “Family Friendly Fishing Waters” popular with locals and other anglers. Species fished for here range from brown and rainbow trout to smallmouth bass, yellow perch and northern pike.
Check out a map of Otter Lake.
For more information on the county’s dam repair project, contact John Pekkala, Houghton County drain commissioner, at 906-482-4491.
