This week Yolo County will start to draw water from Clear Lake and because of the drought, Yolo County will only be allowed to draw approximately 21,000-acre feet from the lake. An acre foot is the amount of water it takes to flood one acre at a depth of one foot. It equals 325,851 gallons.
Yolo County is allowed to draw water from Clear Lake under the “Solano Decree” which states as of May 1 if the lake level at the Rumsey Gauge is 3.22 feet or greater then certain amounts of water can be taken. If the lake level is less than 3.22 feet then Yolo County gets no water. As of May 1 the lake level stood at just above 4 feet on the Rumsey Gauge. Yolo County can take 21,593 acre-feet of that amount. Compare that with 1,155,000 acre-feet when the lake is considered full at 7.56 feet on the Rumsey Gauge. When the lake is full, Yolo County can take 150,000 acre-feet
The good news is that the lake level should drop less than a foot after Yolo County takes its allotment of water. The surface area of Clear Lake is 43,790 acres when full and it contains 1,155,000 acre-feet of water. At zero on the Rumsey Gauge the surface area is 39,170 acres and the lake holds 842,000 acre-feet of water.
Presently the lake”s surface area is about 41,000 surface acres. That means that the lake level will drop less than a foot from Yolo County taking out water, but actually the lake level will drop at least three more feet before the end of summer due to evaporation and lakeside resident use. Lakeside residents have a right to the water under the “riparian rights” law. By Oct. 1 the lake level will be approaching “zero” on the Rumsey gauge
Low lake levels could have an impact on the fishing and boating industry. At zero Rumsey many of the ramps around the lake would be unusable. Many of the docks of the lakeside residents could be left high and dry. The bass and other game fish would probably relocate to the deeper water in the south end of the lake. A low lake level would also mean clearer water and more aquatic weeds. The reason being that the sun could penetrate to the bottom and spur weed growth. In fact, the weeds are already starting to poke near the surface in many areas
A low lake level would mean there would also be fewer areas to fish and the fishing pressure would increase dramatically. To date, the lake has seen unbelievable fishing pressure and it will only get worse as we go into the summer months.
It”s not just Clear Lake that will be drawn down. The lake level at Indian Valley Reservoir and Lake Pillsbury will also be drawn down during the summer months. Yolo County owns all the water in Indian Valley Reservoir and can draw out all it needs. At Lake Pillsbury, water will be taken to keep flows going in the Eel River as well as supplying Lake Mendocino.
A big question on many Lake County residents” minds is what if we have two or three years of less than normal rainfall? If that happens it could be disastrous for the local community.
Don”t forget to write!
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