WTF is this??

[Locutus]

Does anyone have any idea WTF this thing is?  It showed up in a lake by the house this week, but doesn't appear to serve any noticeable purpose.  I'm wondering what it is, and why it's now necessary since it just showed up this week.

[The Troll]

  It looks like a steel float to hold up a dip tube.  I have seen something like this and we used it to hold the dip or down tube, to keep it off the bottom.  So it wouldn't pick mud and dirt and keep it from running though our pumps.  We used ours as a "pick up line" so we could fill tanks in waste treatment.  Also some fire departments could use something this to fill their tanker trucks lakes and ponds.

  Most likely the anchor lines broke and it floated down where you found it.  Any help?

  The Troll, retired industrial pipefitter.

[Locutus]

Well it jibes with what you say in that the tube isn't touching the bottom.  The tube is just floating in the water there. 

As to the whole device floating there, it didn't.  It was sitting beside the lake for a few days before it was placed into the water.

Could the lake be drained with that device?

[The Troll]

  It sure could, with the size of hose, it's around 4 inches.   Hook that up to a good sized pump and you could easily pump over 100 gallons a minute.  If you had a big submersible pump you could pump more.

The pipefitting Troll

[Locutus]

Thanks for the info Troll. 

I guess I'll have to wait and see if I can catch someone there when it's actually being used and find out what their intentions are. 

I hope they're not planning on draining the lake.  That would piss me off.   

[Palehorse]

I hate to say this but I would say that draining the lake is exactly what is going to take place. Now, it may just be a drawdown to conduct a species count and / or other DNR habitat balancing study, or to address silt buildup along the shoreline, or something along those lines.

In any case removing water is going to be taking place here real soon. . .

[Locutus]

Man if they drain that lake, I'm REALLY going to be pissed off. 

[Palehorse]

More than likely its a water / habitat management initiative. If it were something like draining, filling, and building you would have seen public notifications on it. . .At least I would think you would have. . .

[Palehorse]

So. . . they ever drain that lake? Or did you ever find out what they were doing?

[The Troll]

More than likely its a water / habitat management initiative. If it were something like draining, filling, and building you would have seen public notifications on it. . .At least I would think you would have. . .

I just can't believe they would use that to drain a lake.  I think it would take to long.  But then again I seen some people do some real silly things.

  We have a small pond behind our trailer, up at Salomie Reservoir.  They drained it down half way.  It took over 3 weeks, every time they almost made it, it rained.

[Locutus]

So. . . they ever drain that lake? Or did you ever find out what they were doing?

Nope.  That device is still floating there in the same position as the day it was first dropped there. 

[Locutus]

I just can't believe they would use that to drain a lake.  I think it would take to long.  But then again I seen some people do some real silly things.

  We have a small pond behind our trailer, up at Salomie Reservoir.  They drained it down half way.  It took over 3 weeks, every time they almost made it, it rained.

Well as I said, the lake hasn't been drained, so I'm still left to wonder what they're going to eventually do with it.  Remember that it was on the ground beside the lake for several days before it was eventually placed into the lake.