Winter has frozen Lake Zoar from shore to shore, and the ice is thick — circumstances some residents have not seen in several years.

“The last time the lake was frozen was four or five years ago,” said Waterview Drive resident Cindy Palkimas. She has been a lakeside resident for 13 years, she said. Although she remembers the lake freezing over completely in the past, she said, “This year the ice is the thickest it’s ever been since I moved here.”

Lake Zoar Authority member and Underhill Road resident Gary Fillion corroborates this.

“It’s probably been five years since the lake has been completely frozen over…but this year is the most solid it has been since I have been on the lake. That’s 11 years.” The conditions remind him of “lakes of the north, and it’s pretty with all the snow.”

From his backyard that leads down to the water, he had a good view of ATV riders on March 1 taking advantage of the frozen surface.

“Reminds me of Michigan where I came from,” he said. His usual habit of dropping his boat into the water on the last week of March “might not happen this year,” he said, guessing the ice would linger into April. And he anticipates problems when the thaw comes.

After speaking with a few lakeside neighbors, he mentioned a friendly bet that snow and ice would be around on Easter, April 5.

“It’s been a long time since we have seen this. Typically a March thaw melts it all pretty quickly,” he said.

The ice breaking up “could be a disaster” if an ice dam floats down river, Mr Fillion said. “If people have rigid docks that stay in all year, ice sheets could take docks with them. There is potential for shoreline damage.”

The icy, snow-covered lake “looks great, but be careful,” he said.

Despite his warning, he was glad to see the ATVs making use of the flat surface.

“It’s an attractive addition to the lake to go out and do activities,” he said.

Representatives from FirstLight Power, which owns and operates hydroelectric facilities along the Housatonic River including the Stevenson and Shepaug Dams, also have their eyes on the ice.

Len Greene, the director of government and regulator affairs in Connecticut for the utility and a Seymour resident familiar with flooding issues downstream from the Stevenson Dam, is already on the alert for early spring flooding.

“It has been an incredibly difficult winter because of the ice,” he said. Upstream in the northern section of Housatonic, are snow packs “that will soon begin to melt,” he said. “It will be an interesting spring.”

FirstLight “has been managing the ice, and it’s difficult generating electricity with it,” he said.

As far as lake water levels, Mr Greene said, “It will be a significant spring due to fluctuation in water level and we will do all we can to mitigate flooding, but our dams are not flood control,” he said. “So we have limited possibilities, but we will mitigate as much flooding as we can.”

Lake Lillinonah Authority Chairman Greg Petriccione offered his thoughts on the ice and cold.

“Yes, ice does seem to be considerably thicker” near his home on Lillinonah Drive in Brookfield, he said.

Overall, “it’s a good winter for being out there, that’s for sure. But this year you have to do a little digging to skate.” He grew up on the ice and as a lakeside resident, he said he is out there every winter.

“Any kind of recreation — it’s as safe as the person doing it,” he said. Mr Petriccione does not want to see anyone go through the ice. There are regulations, whether for an ATV or snowmobile, he said.

He is not aware of any particular problems due to ice this year. “As far as I know, there are no major issues with any structures,” he said.

Out On The Ice

The sandbar on Lake Zoar isn’t just for boaters anymore. With lake has frozen from side to side, there are greater possibilities for recreation.

Tim Hoeffel’s Queen Street address doesn’t keep him away from the water, or the ice. He is one of many boaters and, this year, snow lovers who favor the sandbar section of the lake running along Underhill Road and Waterview Drive. From there, the Newtown shore faces Southbury across an elbow of water that collects silt and sand, creating a knee-deep sandbar where boaters often gather. Mr Hoeffel was able to visit his favorite summer spot this winter.

“It’s the first time in over ten years we have been able to go on the open lake,” Mr Hoeffel said. While some areas may freeze in inlets, coves, or near the shore, this year’s prolonged chill brought out snow mobiles and ATVs all across the lake and to the sandbar.

“It never got cold enough,” for these activities. He and friends carried a grill out to the sandbar location and had a barbecue recently.

“We have so much fun on the boats in the summer and getting out there in the winter is a great reminder of things to come,” he said.

Mr Hoeffel was among several enthusiasts who went out on the ice to play recently.

Sandy Hook resident Ryan Clark was out on the sandbar with friends recently and the group lit a bonfire. He was impressed, he said,  that the entire lake froze over.

“Never been able to ride the whole lake like this,” Mr Clark said. “Usually the coves freeze up and [ATV riders] can ride there. It was crazy to be able to go anywhere though.”

Among the ATV riders was Southbury resident Gary Csanadi, who also visited the sandbar and enjoyed a bonfire recently. He offered pictures of this year and other years as he and friends got out on the frozen water. He shared images of ATV riders lined up beneath the Rochambeau Bridge, which carries I-84 over the lake, of party guests on the ice near the Southbury boat launch on River Road just past Newtown, and friends of his near the sandbar.

But before any ATVs or other outdoor enthusiasts were able to disturb pristine snow, Underhill Road residents Derek and Tricia Bobowick recently left the first trails of footprints leading from their dock to the sandbar. They did some fishing and enjoyed the view before ATVs arrived.