Candlewood Lake's Third Deep Winter in a Row, and What the Shoreline Gives Up
"Historically it's been helpful to only do a deep drawdown every other year," the Candlewood Lake Authority explains on its drawdown page. Alternating gives native plants, shellfish and the shallow-water habitat that smallmouth bass rely on "a fighting chance" to recover between low years.
This winter will be the third in a row that Candlewood Lake and Squantz Pond go down to deep levels. FirstLight's September 10, 2026 announcement says so directly: "A deep drawdown is scheduled for this year." According to the Authority's April 2026 meeting report, the plan for another deep winter is meant to allow DEEP Boating to do construction at the Squantz Cove boat ramp. The plants that alternating was supposed to protect get no recovery year, and zebra mussels face another hard freeze. Lakefront owners in New Fairfield, Sherman, Danbury, Brookfield and New Milford will see how it plays out right along their own shorelines.
The sequence matters, because only one of the three winters was an exception and the other two were planned.
The emergency deepening took away the shallow year in the middle. In the Authority's February 2026 monthly report, staff wrote, "While we were hoping to have a shallow drawdown to help the plant community recover, deep drawdowns are helpful for managing zebra mussel levels." The shallow winter meant to help plants recover never fully happened.
FirstLight runs the Rocky River Pumped Hydro Storage Station in New Milford and sets the timing and depth of the drawdown. It works in consultation with Connecticut DEEP, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Candlewood Lake Authority. The Authority states plainly that it "does not control the drawdown."
At 418 feet, the lake sits 9 to 11.5 feet below its summer range. FirstLight's notice says exact dates and levels "are not available" because winter weather can't be predicted. So the window is open, but no start date has been set.
According to the Authority's annual report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025, residents found more zebra mussels on their shorelines, boats and docks after summer 2024, and the mussels "saw a significant decline following the wintertime deep drawdown from 2024 through 2025." That deep winter worked. The NewsTimes explained the mechanism in its September 2026 coverage: the drawdown exposes invasive plants and zebra mussels to cold air, and the cold kills them.
The Authority's ecologists have not treated the mussel numbers as settled. In April 2025, The Town Tribune reported that CLA ecology director Neil Stalter described the population as an initial invasion spike rather than a long-term level. He said the lake's calcium had dropped somewhat but was still enough for mussels to survive.
The Authority planned new data collection for this fall. At the October 14, 2026 meeting, staff said buoy removal would begin the following week and that they planned to examine the zebra mussels on the buoys as they came out. Director of Ecology Sofie Licht said she would look at where the mussels turn up. Her report says comparing high- and low-density buoys should improve the Authority's understanding of how mussels are spread across the lake. Once published, those results would give lake residents the first fresh picture of the mussel population going into a third deep winter.
The Authority's explanation of the alternating schedule lists what a deep year gives up. Every foot of exposed lake bed freezes, including the native plants, shellfish and other animals living there. If the lake went deep every year, there "would be substantially fewer plants in the lake," and smallmouth bass would have fewer places to spawn and fewer places for their young to hide.
The Authority also flags erosion. Deeper drawdowns loosen sediment along the exposed shore. When the lake refills in spring, that sediment slides into the water, carrying nutrients that feed algae and wearing away the shoreline. Alternating depths "substantially" slows that erosion. The page also says the lake is already losing plants, and that "another shallower drawdown might be necessary" to protect them.
The most recent Candlewood aquatic plant survey, dated November 2024, found Eurasian watermilfoil at only three sites, with one or a few plants at each, all in water shallower than 3.5 feet. Milfoil was the invasive plant the drawdown was originally meant to control, and the Authority began stocking sterile grass carp against it in 2015. With milfoil this scarce, the main cost of a third deep winter falls on the native plants and bass habitat in the shallows.
DEEP's 2026 schedule as of October 9 still lists Candlewood bass tournaments launching from Squantz Cove on November 7, 8 and 29. How well the fishery does in the years ahead depends partly on plant cover returning to the shallows these deep winters keep exposing.
Erosion isn't the only winter source of nutrients and stress the Authority is tracking. At the October 14 meeting, staff reported on a Salt Summit in Albany, New York, that delegate Steve Kluge, Sofie Licht and Executive Director Mark Howarth attended. The data shows salt levels in Candlewood Lake rising steadily over the years. The group also looked at how higher salt concentrations may affect cyanobacterial blooms.
The minutes add that "many lake communities often use private contractors for salt application," and the Authority may present its findings to the five towns. At the same meeting, Licht said the lake is turning over in many areas, which brings nutrients toward the surface and may contribute to blue-green algae blooms. Both the eroding shoreline and the salt from roads and driveways reach the lake in winter, and both can feed the same summer algae.
FirstLight's notice "strongly" encourages homeowners to take docks, boat lifts and other structures out of the water before winter to avoid ice damage. Because the start date depends on the weather, that advice applies now.
The Authority's zebra mussel guidance is practical. Mussels are now in most parts of Candlewood and attach to docks and boats. When a structure comes out, let the mussels dry before you remove them and throw them away. Wear water shoes on the exposed shoreline, because the shells are sharp. Mussels can also clog engine intakes and small pipes, so the Authority recommends cleaning, draining and drying boats and gear before moving them to another lake. In April 2025, the Authority had not yet seen mussels in Squantz Pond. DEEP lists Squantz among waterbodies susceptible to colonization, which means it is at risk, not that mussels have been confirmed there.
Ice over a lowered lake is the other hazard to plan for. During last winter's emergency deepening, FirstLight warned that "ice shelves, ice drifts, and other hazards regularly occur and could present a life-threatening situation." The Authority posted its own caution that the water under the ice had dropped significantly.
A few rules apply to anyone still on or near the water:
FirstLight expects the lake back in its normal summer range before Memorial Day 2027. The Authority's buoy survey and any decision about next winter's depth will show whether the alternating schedule comes back.
If you're planning shoreline work, deciding whether this is the winter to replace a dock, or wondering how a third deep drawdown affects your property, Cheryl Finley knows Candlewood's permit process and the local contractors who work the exposed shoreline. Schedule Your Personal Consultation and plan this winter before the water drops.
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