Lake Drawdown Update – October 2, 2019 — Though it may not seem like it to anyone currently looking at the lake, the Wonder Lake drawdown has begun. In late September, the sluice gates in the dam were opened slightly to gradually start bringing the lake water level down to the dam spillway crest, to allow the major drawdown to commence on October 1st. However, the heavy rains we have been experiencing recently has made that goal something of a challenge, when roughly 97 square miles (62,000 acres) of watershed land drain to Wonder Lake.