As the summer comes to an end it is an appropriate time for, as the name suggests, Reflections. So far, 2007 has been an exceptional year for Berkeley Lake in several ways. We have had an unprecedented number of capital improvement projects completed by the City, the BLHA and many waterfront homeowners. Most of the seawall and shoreline improvements were made possible by the lowering of the lake. This also facilitated removal of significant amounts of siltation from some of the coves and shallow sections.

While these are all constructive developments the significant lack of subsequent rainfall obviously left a number of boats high and dry during the prime summer months. One of our "dry docked" members, Randy Johnson, was actually featured in a July 26 Atlanta Journal article describing the predicament. The article did note that this is a record-breaking drought with effects far beyond our community. On a positive note, the rainfall we did receive in July was sufficient to raise the water approximately 1 foot. We are hopeful that precipitation over the next few months will continue and the lake will return to full pool.

Another item of note is the new roping around the beach. While this will serve to define the swim area once the lake is at full pool, the purpose at this point is to discourage the geese from coming on land. For some reason the geese had not been a problem the first half of this year but they did return to the beach at the beginning of July and caused quite a mess. We discovered that they prefer to land on the water and walk onto the beach and the ropes act as a "goose fence" barrier.

Other notable events so far this year include a very successful Spring Low Boil, 4th of July Celebration and several movies and camp outs at the beach. Our Back to School Bash was well attended and we have more functions planned for the remainder of the year.

Our next big gathering will be the Fall Member's Party on September 15. This year will be an Oktoberfest theme we are dubbing "Septoberfest." We will have Alpine Décor, German fare and encourage guests to dress appropriately (the men in sennerhut, lederhosen, and the girls in dirndl). It promises to be a memorable time and photo opportunity.

I would also like to note a number of BLHA Board positions will be open at the end of this calendar year. For anyone interested in serving on the board or an associated committee (Events, Capital Improvements, etc.) please reply to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and indicate your area of interest. We welcome new board members and the ideas they present.

Please review the items and updates throughout this issue and I look forward to seeing you all at the "Septoberfest."