Global warming may be occurring around the rest of the world but it certainly isn”t happening in Northern California. After a week of record-setting cold, just about everyone would welcome a little global warming in our neck of the woods.
A good example was during the American Bass team tournament held on Sunday. The air temperature at blast-off was a bone-chilling 16 degrees and the water temperature was only 39 degrees. In fact, a number of records were set in many of the nearby communities. One reason it has been so cold is because we have had little or no rain.
While we may not have global warming here, many local residents are concerned about the lack of rainfall. To date, the state is as dry as it can get and with no rain forecast for the near future, there is concern about a potential drought.
Clear Lake”s level is more than 5 feet lower than last year at this time. The other local lakes are also way down. Lake Pillsbury is only about half full and Indian Valley Reservoir is down about 30 feet.
The effects of a drought could have a significant impact on fish and wildlife in the county. There will be less feed for deer, turkeys, quail and other wildlife, and the fish could have less-than-desirable spawning conditions.
What effects would a severe drought have on the fish in the lake? Well, for one thing, the bass wouldn”t be able to get back in the tules and spawn, which means the eggs and nests would be exposed to waves and predators. If the creeks that flow into the lake are dry, then the hitch won”t be able to spawn.
There would also be more weeds. Low water conditions and clear water are the ideal ingredients for weed growth.
Boat launching could be hindered by low water and the traditional fishing places such as under the docks could be left high and dry. This would be especially noticeable in the Lakeport area. In fact, most of the docks in the Lakeport area now have less than 3 feet of water beneath them.
Droughts have a major impact on shallow lakes like Clear Lake. We don”t have much water to start with and because the lake is so large and shallow, there is a tremendous amount of evaporation during the searing hot days of July and August. Yolo County could also be tapping the lake for water, depending on the status of the lake on May 1.
The other major factor would be the ground water that many county residents rely on for their homes. Actually, no one really knows the state of the county”s water resources, and yet I constantly read about 100 new homes going up here and another 200 going up there. While future growth in the county is inevitable, the ground water supporting these new housing developments is pretty much unknown.
In fact, many of local areas are now having major water problems. Areas such as Spring Valley, Lucerne and other parts of the county don”t have enough water. I always have said that in 20 years, or less, water will be more valuable than oil.
Rainwater recharges the ground water sources, and so far this year we”re well below normal rainfall. December, January and February are normally the rainy months in Lake County. We are now heading into the second half of January and still not much rain. That leaves February to supply our water. Of course, we could have the “March Miracle” that occurred a few years ago, but we can”t count on it.
Even if we have a normal rainfall year, the county should be planning on future water needs. Since the county has a number of advisory committees that advise the Board of Supervisors on issues that will improve the county, I”m surprised there hasn”t been a Water Resources Advisory Committee formed. The committee could come up with ways to manage the water resources in the county. This would help ensure there would be sufficient water supplies for future development.
