LAKE COUNTY >> Last week’s non-stop rains have occupied the minds — and homes — of Lake County residents, especially those unlucky individuals downhill.
Flooded roads, downed trees and mudslides hindered transportation, while slowly rising waters seeped into the nooks and crannies of homes, making for a trying week. That’s to say nothing of the lack of sunshine and warm weather.
But Clear Lake couldn’t be happier, figuratively. Heavy rains have finally alleviated Lake County’s nearly half-decade drought, filling the lake to nearly full on the official Rumsey gauge.
The Rumsey gauge measures Clear Lake’s water level above the Grigsby Riffle, a natural rock formation that helps drain the lake into Cache Creek. “0 Rumsey” means no water flows through that opening. The Rumsey gauge considers the lake full at 7.56 Rumsey, when the water is roughly 7.56 feet above the Grigsby Riffle.
On Friday afternoon the lake’s level began to plateau at 7.10 Rumsey.
Philip B. Moy, Director of Lake County Water Resources Department, said the water levels have concerned some locals.
“There’s a residential flooding aspect to a full lake,” he said. “There’s water in a in a lot of people’s homes.
Moy said most housing around the lake occupies the only flat sections, which are often in low-lying areas and prone to some flooding. Regardless, little can be done to drain the lake any faster.
“You’d like to think that the lake is a reservoir because it has a dam,” he said. “But we can’t let any more out.”
The dam is currently wide open, allowing nearly 2,400 cubic feet out of the lake per second. The lake could be drained faster, but the water would need to be high enough to spill over the dam. Roughly 2.2 million years old, the lake has been naturally swelling and draining for literal ages.
Terry Knight, a member on the Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee and Record-Bee outdoors writer, said a high Rumsey reading might spook those with lakeside property, but local wildlife doesn’t mind. In fact, high waters means productive breeding seasons.
“With the drought over, fish can get upstream and spawn,” Knight said, referring specifically to the Hitch, a revered native species exclusively found in Clear Lake. “With the high levels this year, the Hitch will have a good spawn.”
Strong water flow from the flooding has carried some debris into the lake, presenting a potential boating hazard, but otherwise the lake remains unchanged, except for the official Rumsey level.
