2010 declared a "normal" water year,
not a "wet" water year. Great news for the lake!
Trinity River Fishery Restoration Release Information
(Note, these are releases numbers in the data below is for Lewiston Dam to the Trinity River, not Trinity Lake release numbers. The total Trinity Lake release equals the water allocated to Lewiston for river release and the water going into Lewiston for the Sacramento Valley release)
The total release from Trinity Lake for fishery restoration in 2010 is 647,000 acre feet.
This year, due to maintenance on the Carr Tunnel, the USBR is only taking 1/2 of their normal allocation. This amounts to 311,000 acre feet.
Historic Information
Trinity Lake is the heart of our communities. The lake provides recreation,
electrical power, and tranquility. The lake is man-made, it is a reservoir. It provides us
with a major attraction for visitors, and gives residents a sense of identity — we are
the North Lake communities
However, we are much more than a lake resort area. We have so much to offer to our residents
and our visitors. Our lake level is dependent on climate and politics. Some things we can
influence, but much we cannot.
Most of this website is dedicated to all of the beauty, vitality, activity, community, and
lifestyle of the North Lake area. This section, however, focuses on the lake -- the history,
management, status, and political environment in which our lake exists.
Water Year Determined to be "Normal"!!
The California Department of Water Resources determined that this water year
is a "normal" year, not a "wet" year. This means that 54,000 less acre-feet of water
will be sent down the river. The DWR is forecasting that 1.31 million
acre-feet of water will flow into the lake this year. The threshold for a "wet"
year is 1.53 million acre-feet. In a "normal" year, 647,000 acre-feet are sent
down the river for fishery restoration.
Moreover, due to scheduled maintenance on the Carr Powerplants, the Bureau is
only sending half of what they normally do to the Central Valley. That's an
additional 350,000 acre-feet that will be retained in the lake if they actually
do the maintenance.
What we really need to make this all work is a very warm, heavy rain to wash the
snow into the lake. The strong, warm wind that we are having is not helping -- it will
evaporate the snow before it can melt and run off. So, pray for WARM RAIN for the
next few weeks.
The peak river flows of 6,000 cfs are over and the flows are ramping down. Hopefully, the remaining snow pack will hold the lake level that we have for a couple months.
Action is Needed Now to Save and Revitalize our Lake and Community
The North Lake communities are similar to many rural areas of our country. We face the lack of jobs, business closings, loss of full-time residents, and absentee landlords hijacking key commercial real estate.
In the upcoming months, meetings will be held in the north lake area to discuss our issues, brainstorm solutions, and work out a game plan. Since the County General Plan and Community Plans are stalled due to budgeting, we must be creatively proactive and speak with a united, loud voice to to effect change.
Become a "Save Trinity Lake's Water" Activist ...
If we have any chance of keeping adequate water in Trinity Lake until the Fall each year and propping up our fragile economy, we all must be come engaged in the battle.
Remember that Trinity Lake is not managed by California. The lake releases are managed by the USBR and the lake usage by the USFS.
The players in the battle for the lake water include power generators, huge agribusiness corporations, southern California water districts, and the Endangered Species Act.
Water Flows to Money
You can follow the lake water discussion on the NorthTrinityLake Online Roundtable. Register and subscribe to the Trinity Lake forum. (The subscribe option is at the very bottom of the forum table of contents.)
Suggested reading:
The Trinity Lake water management process and Trinity River restoration funding and oversight is a tangled mess. It is hard to figure out who manages what, what piece of legislation (or court case) trumps the other, and who is in charge. So here are some places to start your reading. Remember that each group is biased, but these sites help us to understand the battle:
