Severe drought dries up Lake Tahoe: Boats
and docks lie hundreds of feet from shore,
salmon can't spawn and scientists warn
of dire consequences
Daily Mail (UK) & Associated Press,
by
Ariel Zilber
&
Staff
Original Article
Posted By: Imright,
10/17/2021 11:38:32 PM
Lake Tahoe’s water levels have dropped about half-an-inch below its natural rim as experts warn that another dry winter could put the body of water at risk of becoming ‘terminal’ - meaning the lake will no longer be able to supply its only outflow, experts say.The severe drought conditions across California and the Sierra Nevada mountains have taken their toll on the lake.Water is no longer flowing from the lake into the Truckee River and salmon are unlikely to spawn in a major tributary this year, according to the Los Angeles Times
Reply 1 - Posted by:
RedWhite&Blue2 10/17/2021 11:53:24 PM (No. 949346)
I’m going there tomorrow
I visit that beautiful lake every week
One of the beautiful places in Nevada/Cal
It could snow tonight
40’s tomorrow
Snow all next weekend
Love it
14 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
DVC 10/18/2021 12:24:07 AM (No. 949354)
My bet, with out doing any research, but based on what has happened at many other lakes.....water being taken for domestic use for all the homes around the lake is probably a big issue, and also there is usually someone that is now taking water from the input river(s) in these cases, too, for either city water or for agriculture. I don't remember seeing much ag in that area, so probably just drinking and flushing.
Pure guess. Usually somebody taking the water.
14 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
JL80863 10/18/2021 12:26:43 AM (No. 949356)
Where were the 'scientists' when water storage funding dried up? No development since 1979!
17 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
DVC 10/18/2021 12:40:55 AM (No. 949362)
Get some facts here on the historic water levels in Lake Tahoe. 4,000 to 6,000 years ago the Truckee River was dried up for many decades, long enough for huge trees to grow in the bottom of what is now the lake. Drought cycles are very normal, no "man made" component about them, just check the history a bit.
https://www.sierracollege.edu/ejournals/jsnhb/v6n2/waterwar.html
Historically the lake has been hugely up and down, and only in the last century had arrogant Man decided to keep the lake within a six foot range. FTA:
"More recently during severe drought in the 1920s and 1930s, Lake Tahoe fell below its rim eight years in a row and the Truckee River dried up. To satisfy downstream water demand, large pumps were installed near the Tahoe Dam; over several years more than 117,000 acre feet of water was sucked from the lake. Newspapers reported that Tahoe residents were intent on sabotaging the pumps. Armed confrontations were barely averted ...."
Much more on the history, if you care.
27 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Timber Queen 10/18/2021 1:18:48 AM (No. 949377)
Rain tonight across northern California. Its been constant since noon today, and forecast for every day this week. I guess some could call it "climate change".
23 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
chumley 10/18/2021 1:21:54 AM (No. 949378)
Government save us! I want to annoy people with my jet ski!
8 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Scribe 10/18/2021 1:40:59 AM (No. 949379)
The headline is severely misleading ... Lake Tahoe will not dry up, and (as any boater knows) docks always rise and fall throughout the year. The mean depth of the lake is over 900 feet. But why not spark some fear, eh?
16 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
web 10/18/2021 1:42:01 AM (No. 949380)
Gee, a half an inch below the rim. Whatever will we do? "... things 'could' get a lot worse." And they may get a lot better, if there is an abundance of rain and snow this winter. It isn't climate change. It's natural variablility. Our hot weather is not much hotter than normal. Here in the Southwest, anyway, I haven't seen any evidence of higher than average temperatures in the summer.
18 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
hisself 10/18/2021 8:06:01 AM (No. 949518)
FTH: "scientists warn of dire consequences"
'Scientists' are always warning of dire consequences. That's how they keep the grant money rolling in.
13 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
snowoutlaw 10/18/2021 8:58:52 AM (No. 949579)
The lake is often below the dam level this doesn't mean the river is dried up for long because it gets fed from other creeks and rivers many times before it gets down to Reno.
There is no Salmon run in the Truckee River which heads east and never makes it to the ocean. There is a small salmon run in Taylor Creek but that is 20 miles away on the opposite side of the lake and even then they are not natural salmon, they were planted years ago and never make it to the ocean, the Lake acts as the ocean and Taylor Creek runs into the lake not out of it.
9 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
red1066 10/18/2021 9:48:19 AM (No. 949638)
Snow is forecast for the Sierra's today. A couple of usual snowstorms in the Sierra's will produce enough run off to fill Lake Tahoe.
6 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Yuban 10/18/2021 10:04:33 AM (No. 949656)
Lived at South Shore back in the 80's. Even then they had a moratorium on building. To this day Tahoe is crystal clear and beautiful. It is the end of summer. Every lake is lower now than it was in the Spring. This is a non story meant to appease the tree huggers. Nothing more, nothing less. Have a blessed day folks.
9 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
earlybird 10/18/2021 10:50:12 AM (No. 949701)
Water level in this huge lake down a half inch. Summer is not the rainy season here, and this was an exceptionally hot one. Give it a while. Rain here today. (SoCal)
3 people like this.
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