LAKEPORT >> Valentine’s Day marked the beginning of Lake County’s temporary ban of motorized boats on Clear Lake, and while officials haven’t worried about people breaking rules on the lake, they worry about the lake itself.
“Right now there’s a whole lot of debris on the lake,” said Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. “We’ve been removing a lot of stuff from the lake.”
Brooks said the downed trees, abducted picnic tables, and runaway docks have scattered all around the lake, and the LSCO has been on the lakes with the Water Resources Department and Fish & Game Department to help clear the waters.
Meanwhile, in the offices, the very same departments and several others have been clearing the air, dealing with a large volume of calls from concerned or confused community members. Without direct access to the lake, many people have some questions.
“We’ve been very busy on the lake” Brooks said. His department has received some flak from the community for continuing to boat on the lake while closing it to others. “This debris could be a hazard when the lake reopens.”
While the debris could damage lakefront property and create some problems when the lake drains out, it makes up only one of Lake County residents’ concerns.
“We’re doing everything we can,” said Water Resources Director Phil Moy. “The dam at Cache Creek has been wide open since the second week of January.”
Moy said he’s collected several calls from people who believe the lake can be physically drained by the existing infrastructure. Sadly, it cannot.
“Some people think the gates are closed, and that Yolo County is keeping the water there for summer crop irrigation,” he said. “That’s absolutely false.”
Unlike a manmade reservoir, which would be able to drain based on output, the Clear Lake proves entirely natural, relying on a large granite formation called the Grigsby Riffle for natural drainage. Yolo County has control over the dam on Cache Creek, but it can only drain the water flowing over that natural barrier. That said, Clear Lake physically cannot drain any faster.
Moy said he hopes the Grigsby Riffle, as well as policy surrounding the Cache Creek Dam will be reconsidered in light of Lake County’s current local emergency status. If some infrastructure changes can be made, Lake County could have more control over the level of Clear Lake.
“I’m keenly interested in revisiting it,” he said.
As several recent public updates have told, Clear Lake and continual rains have overwhelmed many of Lake County’s sewer waterways. Moy said District Three Supervisor Jim Steele has warned his department that fishing in the lake could be unsanitary. With so much water movement through infrastructure built in the 1960s, it might be safest to avoid contact with lake waters altogether.
The county’s Director of Environmental Health, Ray Ruminski, said many people in the community are concerned about that very issue.
“There’s not a fix you can put on this,” Ruminski said. “We’re monitoring where the worst conditions are and giving out advisory notices.”
He said until the lake levels go down, environmental health won’t be able to do much about sewers, as the issue will continue until the systems have a chance to catch up.
He also said restaurants and retail businesses along the water that have taken on some flooding will likely need to be closed for a few days to clean up and undergo health inspections before reopening. Unfortunately, some buildings may be damaged, and may not open until owners make necessary fixes. The closer businesses are to the water, the longer it may take.
“The first places flooded will be the last places cleared,” Ruminski said.
His department has also received calls about drinking water. He said water treatment and disinfection has been working fine, and residents shouldn’t worry if they draw water from the city. However, those with private wells near still water might want to get their systems tested for traces of sewage.
As he suggested, most of these problems will recede with the water, and the less water people use, the less strain on public water systems.
“We’re advising people to conserve water,” he said, “pretend there’s a drought again.”
A man takes his chances fishing in what was a Lakeport cul-de-sac before floodwaters swelled. County officials warn that fish caught in floodwaters may not be safe to eat.
The sheriff’s boat patrol has been pulling trees and large limbs from the lake. Here a man cuts limbs from a tree in danger of falling.
A photographer looks to document some of the flooding on Esplanade St. in Lakeport.
The gazebo in Lakeport’s Library Park.
