The ongoing drought in the western United States is evident in the water levels of Shasta Lake, a large reservoir in northern California that counts on rainfall for replenishment. Low water levels can lead to hazardous conditions for local recreation. Many more people are affected by how this limited water resource is allocated for ecological, urban, and agricultural needs downstream.
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on Terra acquired these simulated true-color images of Shasta Lake. The top image shows the lake on September 14, 2005, and the bottom image was acquired on September 2, 2014.
On the day the first image was acquired, the lake’s elevation was 309.4 meters (1,015 feet); nine years later (second image), the lake level had dropped to an elevation of 278.3 meters (913 feet). The water elevation in the reservoir at full capacity would be 325.2 meters (1,067 feet). Light tan colors along the shore are new beach areas that have been uncovered as the water level has dropped.
When I lived in California in the 70s, those in control of water refused to let the Corps of Engineers dredge Folsom Reservoir to keep it from silting up. The result was that the holding capacity was significantly reduced. Shasta was full to brimming years ago, but the current water managers refused to fill it up again during the years of high snow pack. I watched Mono lake shrink as water was sent to SoCal.
ReplyDeleteYes, Shasta and other reservoirs are not full and unable to help during the current drought. The primary reason is decades of bad water management not the current situation.
Dave