The Changing Water Levels of Hempstead Lake

The Changing Water Levels of Hempstead Lake. . , This lake was created in the early 1800s when Long Island's largest gristmill, Oliver's Eagle Flour Mill, was built. The original mill pond was enlarged to a lake in 1870, when a 22-foot-high dam was constructed to create a 400-million-gallon reservoir to supply water for Brooklyn residents. Most of the water seeped into the ground due to the sandy, permeable soils here; the project was soon abandoned. Today, Hempstead Lake continues to have difficulty retaining water., Long Island's Water Supply , A water table under Long Island contains melt waters from the glaciers that formed Long Island over 10,000 years ago. This aquifer is replenished when rain and melting snow seeps down through the soil into the ground. This is where we get our drinking water., Reliant on the Underground Water , Lakes, rivers, and wetlands are formed when the underground water table reaches the surface of Long Island. The amount of water in Hempstead Lake changes with the level of the water table. During droughts, the water is frequently 2 - 3 feet below the lake bottom. This causes the lake to dry up., Underground Water Levels , With all the people who live in the communities around Hempstead Lake, there is a great demand for water. Roads, buildings, and parking lots reduce the amount of water that seeps into the ground. additionally, sewage treatment plants take the water that you use in your home, treat it, and discharge it into nearby bays. With less water recycling back into underground aquifer, the water table in Nassau County has dropped 15 - 20 feet since the 1960s., [Captions:] , Hempstead Lake nearly dried up during a drought in 2002. Some of its wildlife, including turtles, was relocated to nearby lakes., At the end of the drought, rains recharged the underground aquifer and refilled the lake with water. Fish were restocked from other ponds on Long Island.