The Center Lake, Warsaw, water level is about 2 feet higher than normal, according to unofficial reports.

Much of Municipal Park is under water with the public beach area west of the Center Lake pavilion completely flooded.

"It's as high as I can remember," said Bill Hilliard, Center Lake Conservation Association president.

According to Toby Tenharmsel, National Weather Service spokesman in North Webster, this is the fourth-wettest October in recorded history, 5 inches above normal.

Regular precipitation in the region is 2.32 inches and 7.4 inches has been recorded so far this month.

In 1991, 8.4 inches of rain fell in October.

Ten years ago, however, the Indiana-American Water Co. was pumping more than a million gallons of water a day from Center Lake to provide drinking water to the community.

That activity ended Dec. 30, 1999, when the company installed four wells, according to Hal Gurkin, the water company's operations superintendent.

Pike Lake and Center Lake drain much of the town and the eastern part of the county.

"Pike Lake is the major watershed from Pierceton back to Warsaw," said Warsaw street superintendent Lacy Francis. "With all the rain we've had, we're inches above what we're supposed to have."

While the Center Lake Conservation Association members control the Osborn Drive dam, setting winter and summer levels, and the city helps maintain the dam, the Indiana Department of Resources is responsible for all the waterways in the state.

Francis said the Osborn dam used to have four or five gates but only one is operational now.

According to Hilliard, the water level on the other side of the dam was higher than the lake level.

The water is retreating - slowly - with the level going down a little more than an inch in the last 24 hours. [[In-content Ad]]