General info on lake water levels

To continue to enjoy our lakes, we must maintain our dams and adhere to all state dam safety requirements. All three dams have functioning lower valves, allowing us to lower the pools below the riser heights if needed to protect our dams. These valves are for dam maintenance or in the event of an upstream dam failure that could affect our dams. In addition, the right side of each dam has a state-required emergency spillway, which allows water to go around the dam once the pool is 6-8 feet above normal in order to prevent a catastrophic overtopping of the dam.

Residents must expect a couple of feet of variation in the pool height when we have a substantial rain event. Please make sure to keep property away from the shorelines and at a safe elevation whenever we get heavy rain! The TLOA is not liable for flooding damage to any property within the community. We do not determine flood zones or control where houses were built on lots. While we do not experience anything close to the tidal variation coastal folks experience, we must expect some variation when the weather brings flooding to our area. Functional culverts and dams actually help to mitigate some of the flooding that would otherwise affect our roads. Keep in mind that when we open the valve for Dam 1, it increases the flow from Deep Run into Lake 2 (Lake Shenandoah). Lake Shenandoah is also downstream from Wildwood Valley Lake via Quarter Creek. We cannot and do not control the inflow from that lake and creek. If we open the valve for Dam 2, this, in turn, increases the inflow into Lake 3 (Lake Skyline). Therefore all three valves would need to be opened several days prior to an anticipated tropical storm/hurricane in order to lower the pools in all lakes BEFORE the event starts. Hydrologists themselves debate the effectiveness of this, but if we feel it may help to protect the dams, we will notify residents and open the valves.

This page will eventually house a lot more useful details for the community and especially lakeside owners.  In the meantime, please enjoy the following video donated to us by the amazing team at B C Harrop Photography LLC. This video highlights the beautiful Twin Lakes community and the public entrances to all 3 of our lakes!