Low water levels on Beothuk Lake have proven to be a bit of boon to the Town of Millertown, even as the sobering reality of climate change hits home.
Mayor Fiona Humber says seeing the sandy bottom exposed is like stepping back in time before the lake was flooded.
Beothuk Lake and Millertown when water levels are normal (Photo Facebook: Millertown)
She says they’ve seen plenty of visitors to the area to take in the phenomenon and walk the beach to pick up artifacts that haven’t been seen in more than a century.
Beothuk Lake water levels at Millertown, October 2025 (used with permission by Route 370- News & Weather on Facebook)
She says Millertown once occupied the area that is now exposed, and had to be moved back from the sandbar when the lake was flooded in 1927.
Beothuk Lake is part of a system of reservoirs that feed into it including Star Lake, Burnt Dam, Granite Lake and Victoria, all of which Humber says, are low.
“There’s just no water,” says Humber. “We’ve never seen anything like this. This is the first time it’s been this low in 100 years at least. It does open up your eyes to how important and serious climate change is in this area…I mean this has impacted multiple dammed reservoirs and they’re all incredibly low.”
