Lake County has changed dramatically within the past 15 years. The county”s beautiful landscape, friendly atmosphere and its biggest asset, giant Clear Lake, have attracted not only tourists but new residents as well.
Just take a drive through the countryside and you will see new homes going up everywhere. There also are several large housing tracts on the planning board. And when you take into account the massive amount of formally dry brush land that has been converted into vineyards, all this activity demands a lot of water.
The big question for future growth is where is this water going to come from? Many of the new homes (and older ones) use wells to draw their water, and with the wet stuff being in limited supply these days, there could be trouble down the road … in less than 20 years.
There is only so much groundwater available. Clear Lake has plenty of water but Yolo County owns most of it and isn”t about to give it up without a fight. A major problem is the county really doesn”t know the amount of groundwater available for future use. There have been very few studies done on the existing water table and no one really knows how much water is pumped from the ground every day.
Over the years a number of people have suggested building more dams. Of course, that will be met with protests by environmental groups who would like to see most of the existing dams dismantled.
Actually, dams can be built in areas that would have little impact on the environment and provide not only water but recreational opportunities as well. Creeks that are normally dry during the summer months could be dammed up so that small lakes could be formed during the wetter winter months.
Indian Valley Reservoir is a good example. Prior to the dam being built in 1972, the North Fork of Cache Creek either completely dried up during the summer or was little more than a trickle of water. Now there is a lake that”s six miles long and two miles wide. It not only provides water to Yolo County, which has resulted in less water being taken from Clear Lake, but the lake also has an excellent trout, kokanee and bass fishery, which provides recreational opportunities.
Similar dams could be built in other areas of the county. For years there has been talk of building a dam on Scotts Creek. Most of Scotts Creek dries up during the summer months and the surrounding hills are little more than thick brush. A dam would have minimal impact on the environment but would provide valuable water for the county. There are other areas in the county where small dams could be constructed.
The new lakes also would recharge the ground water and give the local wells a boost. As it now stands in many areas, wells are drying up or the water table has dropped to dangerously low levels.
The problem is that everyone talks about water conservation but little is done to achieve it, and that includes our local government.
Years ago cities such as Phoenix and Las Vegas thought they had all the water in the world for future growth, but now there is strict water rationing. In fact, they even have water cops who patrol the residential areas and cite anyone who is washing a car or watering their lawn.
Landscapers are tearing up lawns and replacing them with drought resistant plants and rocks. New housing developments are being delayed until more water can be found.
Could the same thing happen to Lake County? The answer is a resounding yes!
One answer is for the county to get rid of the hodgepodge of water companies around the lake. Have a single water company serve the entire county outside of the city limits of Lakeport and Clearlake. Water also should be supplied to the many homes around these communities that are situated on less than two acres. This way they don”t have to rely on private wells.
As it now stands many of the suburban homes have their own wells and can pump all the water they want, which lowers the water table.
The county could also install (at no cost to the landowner) meters on wells selected at random. The meters could be read every other month and the static water depth in the wells could be read once a year. That would give the county planners a good idea of how much ground water is being used and what is available for future growth.
Of course, the easy thing is to do nothing and let future generations worry about where their water is going to come from.
