Also of concern is the lake's fluctuating water level, which had dropped by more than a metre between the early 1960s and the late 1970s. The lake, being located on a rise of land, has a very small cachement area and so its level is very susceptible to variations in annual rainfall. The lake is also relatively shallow with a largely flat bottom, making even a small change in water level noticeable at the lakeshore. The shoreline had become disagreeably mucky as a result of the decline in water level. And an outlet stream draining the lake to the north ceased flowing in the early 1970s, increasing concerns of eutrophication and stagnation of the lake water. However, the lake had by the late 1990s risen again by some 60 cm from its lowest levels of the late 1970s. While welcome, this rise drowned many young trees along the water edge, particularly on the north shore which became clothed in dead saplings. Emergent marsh plants (notably Scirpus, Typha, and Phragmites) had also overtaken much shore line with the resubmergence of formerly dry lake bottom. The water level dropped again during the very dry year of 2000, but has since risen again, and had reached very high levels following the very wet summer of 2010 and snowy winter of 2010/2011 (about 200 cm above its lowest level in 1975). Some recreational facilities, such as the boat launch facility on the lake's north-east corner, have been rendered inaccessible by the high water levels, and very little visible beach sand remains at the Pickerel Point or Ministik swimming areas.