Photo by David Prenatt The shoreline of Findley Lake is full of boats now that the water levels have returned to normal.

FINDLEY LAKE — On July 1, Findley Lake water levels were lower than anyone could remember.

Then it started to rain.

As July drew to a close, the water levels in Findley Lake were back to normal summer levels, and the Watershed Foundation was even obliged to let water out of the dam to prevent damage to docks and property.

“It was such an elongated period of time, something we have never seen before,” said Mina Town Supervisor Rebecca Brumagin, speaking of the drought that preceded the torrential rains of July. “At the watershed meeting on July 17, Ed (Watershed Foundation President Ed Mulkearn) asked if anyone had ever seen this situation and no one had,” she said. Brumagin added that some of the people present have lived in Findley Lake for more than 70 years.

Despite the fact that many people were not able to get their boats into the water before mid-July, Brumagin said she feels everyone has been very understanding of the situation. “I think the people are pleased that the lake is up,” she said. “People were aware of the fact that the issue was a rain issue, it wasn’t anything else.”

After the driest spring in memory, rain began to fall on the evening of Thursday, July 1st. That particular rainfall continued all through the next day, dumping between two and four inches of rain on Chautauqua County. Weather reports indicated that several towns received a month’s worth of precipitation in one day (July 2). “We seem to have gotten our fair share of subsequent rain, too,” said Sherri Hamilton, who, with her husband, Jack, owns and operates Findley Lake Marine.

The continual rain which restored the water levels, has caused the Hamiltons to put in 12 hour days. “We’re still struggling with getting all the boats in the water; there’s not enough hours in the day,” Sherri said. Findley Lake Marine stores more than 180 boats over the winter, most of which are generally in the water by Memorial Day.

According to Hamilton, this year, as of July 1, Findley Lake Marine did not even have 36 boats in the water. She said the lake was 12” to 14″ below the normal summer level and there was danger of scraping the bottom of the boats and having the boats get damaged on the docks.

After the first of July, “it rained and rained and it never quit,” Hamilton said. “The rain waited until July this year,” she added.

“There’s been no time for sleep — it’s wild,” Hamilton said. “Every day we’re rushing to get more and more boats in the water.”

Hamilton said that at least 20 families decided to skip boating this year because much of the season was lost. On the other hand, “we have a family or two who are heading here in August to get in some time on the water before school starts,” she said.

While the Hamiltons are putting in 12 hour days to get the rest of the boats in the water and handle service calls, the mechanical weed harvester is also hard at work. “They’re able to use the weed harvester now and it is running at full capacity,” Hamilton said.

Brumagin noted that what happened this year is believed to be an anomoly. “We don’t anticipate this happening again,” she said. While this summer’s weather may be unprecedented, Brumagin added that “everyone is happy now.”