Joanne Burghardt, SLCA President
When Steenburg Lake's water level dropped during the summer of 2025, you either liked it -- or you didn’t.
Aided by high temperatures and a lack of rain, the lake dropped 835mm (33.18 in) from 1055mm on April 6 to 212 mm on Oct. 4, 2025 (as measured at the log dam north of the beach on Steenburg Lake North Road).
In Steenburg Lake, stop logs are used as part of a water control structure to manage water levels where water exits the lake on its way to Limerick Lake. Managed by the Crowe Valley Conservation Authority, these logs are manually placed or removed to adjust the water level.
CVCA has set two stop logs as the benchmark of 500 mm for Steenburg Lake: 11.3 inches higher than the lake level stood on Oct. 4, 2025.
A LOOK BACK….”At the present time, and on a trial basis, a manually operated log dam has been installed and if this type of dam does not prove effective then the Authority (CVCA) will probably build one of another style.” SLCA newsletter May 1966.
According to Ontario government websites, water levels dropped in 2025 primarily due to dry water supply conditions, with less-than-average precipitation and runoff, leading to reduced inflows from other water sources. This was exacerbated by high rates of evaporation during the hot summer months, and a continued upstream deficit from previous dry periods.
Over the last century, the Steenburg Lake water level has fluctuated from time to time. From what some call the ‘normal’ lows of the first half of the 20th Century to the ‘highs’ that have been documented since the mid-1990s.
Some property owners celebrated the 2025 drop in the water line as a return to levels of the 1960s and before; as good news for nesting Loons; and for shorelines often battered by waves generated by boat wakes.
But not everyone was happy. While property owners suddenly had beaches, previously unseen rocks appeared above the surface and docks stood far above the water line - like Herons perched on stick-like legs. In some cases, boat hulls and pontoons rested on the lake bottom. Unsuspecting boaters saw propellers damaged. Weeds, like the invasive Eurasian Water-Milfoil (EWM), thrived and created green masses as they soaked up the sun.
At the public beach, the usual few feet of sand had stretched to 36.75 feet by Oct. 2, 2025 (measured from the #234 EMS marker to the water line).
Historically, what have water levels been?
I reached out to Amanda Donald, Acting General Manager of the CVCA, to request historical water level data and was told the CVCA does not have that data. Luckily, SLCA member Dave Langman - and previously Rick Burke - has tracked the data in recent years. See the chart at steenburglake.ca/waterlevels.
For those of us who are not generational owners of our properties, this is the lowest we have seen the water. Frank and I purchased our cottage 11 years ago, and we have photos going back to 1989 when the water was much higher.. Like many, we had lots of beach this year, but our jet ski dock was only a couple inches from the lake bottom, and the Eurasian Water-Milfoil went crazy in the southeast corner of East Bay as it soaked up all that sunshine previously filtered by water. By October there were mats of Milfoil floating on the surface.
Above: Our shoreline in the East Bay, 1989 (left) compared to 2025 (right).
Dave Langman’s family has been on the lake for more than a century. Dave describes the 2025 water level as a return to historic levels, and fondly remembers a time when his family had a beach where the kids played. He shared these photos:
Above: Birch Island 1922 (a.k.a. Powers Island), home of the Langman’s, photo by Frank Dewey (Dewey's Island) 1922. Dave Langman says the water is lower in this photo than it is in 2025. Note the rock protruding from the water in the right of the photo.
Above: The same location from land in 1991. Same rock. Photo courtesy of Dave Langman.
Above: The same location in 2025 - note the rock on the right. Photo by Dave Langman.
So, what about next year?
Typically, as fall proceeds and colder air moves in over warm lakes, evaporation increases. And with drier than normal weather forecast for this fall, it’s expected water levels will continue to decline into winter, but at an accelerated pace.
If you believe the Farmer’s Almanac, southeastern Ontario may experience below-normal temperatures and precipitation this winter. Who knows how accurate that is, or how melting snow will affect Steenburg Lake in the spring.
CVCA usually removes the stop logs from the culvert/dam on the north road in the fall to make room for the anticipated spring snowmelt. They confirmed Oct. 9 that the logs will be removed for the winter to preserve them from the weather: the water is already below the logs.
In her column in this newsletter, Amanda Donald of the CVCA, says, “ …there is little CVCA can do to improve lake levels throughout the watershed. In a typical year, once the spring water levels have receded to 3 to 4 inches above summer level for Steenburg Lake, CVCA staff replace the logs into the dam at the culvert.”
Amanda’s comment suggests if the water level increases in the spring, the stop logs would be put in place in an attempt to maintain the lake level at the log dam at 500mm.
