New Hampshire to Lower Burns Lake in Whitefield for Dam Repairs

WHITEFIELD — New Hampshire will lower Burns Lake about twice as far as usual this fall to replace rotting wooden logs in the dam, a state official told the Whitefield Select Board on Sept. 28. Dean Mattaini, an operations and maintenance engineer with the state Department of Environmental Services’ Dam Bureau, said the annual drawdown will begin Oct. 12. The lake normally is lowered about 1½ feet. Mattaini said the wooden logs inside the concrete structure typically last 15 to 25 years. State dam operators had flagged the Burns Lake dam because of leakage.