Prescott lakes almost full to capacity

If you've never had a chance to checkout Watson Lake or Willow Lake in Prescott, this year would be a good time with the high water levels.

"Gone are the cracked patches of dirt, the dry boat docks, and the water rings high up on granite formations.

For now at least, the low-water traces that are common at Willow and Watson lakes have been replaced with wide expanses of blue water – all thanks to a series of rain and snow storms that hit Prescott and the surrounding mountains in December and January.

In fact, city officials say that for the first time since 2010, Willow Lake is expected to fill to capacity. (Willow nearly filled up in spring 2015, but reportedly did not reach the spillway.)

And on the other side of Highway 89, Watson Lake has been at capacity since early this month. “Watson Lake has been spilling (over the spillway at the dam) naturally since Jan. 3,” said Craig Dotseth, utilities manager for the city.

About a week before that – on Dec. 27 – the city began transferring water from Watson to Willow through the channel that runs under Highway 89 and connects the two lakes. When Watson gets near its own spillway, the city regularly opens the gate of the “crosscut ditch,” allowing water to drain through the ditch and into Willow Lake."

That has helped to fill Willow, which has a smaller drainage area than Watson, and typically does not fill as quickly, Dotseth said.

Watson Lake below the spillway:


source/full article: dcourier.com/news/2017/jan/29/Watson-willow-lakes-filled-near-capacity/