The water in and around Crystal Lake is not as high as it was in the third week of August last year, but it is getting pretty high.

The one pier I could find, Dick Vogelman’s at Lakewood’s Gate 7, was not quite under water.

“Water on the Pavement” signs are up on North Shore Drive.

This one is also in front of the last house before entering Lakewood from the west on North Avenue, right in front of the Lakewood Village Hall.

The water on North Shore Drive, covers only the edges in a couple of places, not the whole road like last year.

There is now a permanent road from the North Shore to Woodland Drive.

It is blocked by a gate, but, if the need arises, traffic can flow like it did last year.

Last year, it looked like this.

And permanent pipes have been put under the road and a pretty wide ditch dug. In the picture above, North Shore Drive is in the background.

From the mud I picked up on my shoes while walking along side to the lake, I’d say it was only recently completed.

It certainly is more substantial, especially wider, than the ditch dug rapidly last year by Crystal Lake Public Works Department employees, quickly supplemented by hoses with pumps, but the drop from North Shore Drive still is very slight.

Run-off will not be gushing into Crystal Lake.

You can be sure of that.

There seems to be more of an effort this year filter out particulates.

You can see how the hose emptied right into Crystal Lake last year.

I did not see any flooding on Broadway last night.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Compare the last one, which shows how flood water entered Crystal Lake last August, with the two above. The one right above the spewing hose shows the ditch right before the water enters the lake. Above it is a picture looking down at the filtering barrier at the lake’s edge. The lake is on the right.