Blue Dog Lake Dropping But Slowly

WAUBAY, SD - Water is on its way down along Blue Dog Lake in Waubay but not fast enough to put homeowners at ease.

We've been tracking the lake levels since spring melt. And there's little more to celebrate now than there was then. With water still high, people living along it can all but give up the thought of seeing a full shoreline this year.

"I think it's going to take two or three years for the water to ever get back down to where it was," Dave Jones said.

The lake hit a season high mid-May and the city hoped it would have dropped two feet by now. But it hasn't even dropped a full foot.

It's already damaged property at Jones' home. But he's thankful to see the lake where it's at now after watching it cover his lawn and flood his garage for weeks.  But it’s still plenty high for this time of year, making homeowners question what will happen come spring.

"Nothing you can do but get prepared for it,” Jones said. “Not much else you can do."

A pump draining water from the crawl space under his home runs constantly. Water damage is evident on neighboring homes and cabins.

"Want to get it as low as possible. It'd be great to get all our property back," Jones said.

But there's just no saying if it'll be a year, two or longer before that happens.

Bitter Lake, on the other end of town, was constantly on the rise. But it's been staying about the same recently.