California Drought

[chuckinca]

Below is a pic of Lake Tahoe taken earlier this fall. Lake Tahoe is the 6th largest lake in North America after the 5 Great Lakes.

An article in Yahoo today said that since this past Monday night through this morning (Wednesday) a heavy storm in the area has dropped over 6 billion gallons of water that has made its way into Lake Tahoe. The 6 billion gallons raised the lake level about 2".

Looking at the pic it appears that the lake level at the piers are nearly 4 feet below normal. The lake might need another 150 Billion Gallons or so to get back to normal.

If Lake Tahoe needs 150 Billion Gallons of water to get back to normal, the entire State of California might take nearly a decade or more of normal rainfall to make up the drought losses.

[Jima64]

I lived in California most of the late 70's and into the 90's and was under drought water restrictions most of those years. Can assure you that the water in Lake Tahoe really isn't used for most of the rest of the state. MOst of the reservoirs are so low it gets to the point of taking the pleasure craft out of them and not trying to move the docks and ramps out any further. Tahoe is a beautiful lake and fun place to visit this time of year.

[chuckinca]

The some of the water from Lake Tahoe goes east to Reno, Nevada and environs. Most of the water in the lake stays there for hundreds of years.

Most of the California man made reservoirs are low now but usually fill up with the normal winter rains. However, it will take a long time for the entire state aquifer to return to normal.

.

[Jdmiata]

The water levels in Calif are very low. It will take a few years of above rain and snow fall to bring them back to normal levels. Calif is the largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the country. We'll feel it when those items are fewer and more expensive.