California Lake Mysterious Runs Dry Overnight, Killing Thousands Of Fish

[bananas]

Source: CBS 13 Sacramento

A Northern California reservoir ran dry overnight, killing thousands of fish and leaving residents looking for answers.

While a $3.5 million drought safety net at Folsom Lake finishes, a lake in another part of the state is left high and dry.

Thousands of fish lay dead in what used to be Mountain Meadows reservoir also known as Walker Lake, a popular fishing hole just west of Susanville.

“Everywhere that you see that’s wet, there was water,” said resident Eddie Bauer.

<snip>

Read more: http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/09/24/california-lake-mysterious-runs-dry-overnight-killing-thousands-of-fish/

[hobbit709]

1. Sinkhole?

[bananas]

2. Thousands of fish die when Calif. lake runs dry overnight

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/thousands-of-fish-die-when-california-reservoir-lake-runs-dry/

Thousands of fish die when Calif. lake runs dry overnight

CBS News September 25, 2015, 2:21 PM

WALKER LAKE, Calif.-- Thousands of fish are dead after a Northern California reservoir ran dry overnight, reports CBS Sacramento.

Mountain Meadows reservoir also known as Walker Lake is a popular fishing hole just west of Susanville. Now the reservoir is dry and all the fish are dead.

Residents tell CBS Sacramento that people were fishing on the lake just last Saturday. But it drained like a bathtub overnight.

<snip>

[bananas]

3. Thousands of rotting fish carcasses stink out California neighborhood after water mysteriously drain

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3249204/Residents-near-California-lake-face-stench-thousands-rotting-fish-carcasses-water-mysteriously-drains-hydroelectric-company-says-didn-t-it.html

Thousands of rotting fish carcasses stink out California neighborhood after water mysteriously drains from lake overnight

- Walker Lake, a 5,800-acre reservoir in northern California, drained early this month

- Thousands of bass, perch and catfish died when water disappeared a day after residents had been fishing on the lake, and now leave a foul smell

- Pacific Gas and Electric Company has water rights to the reservoir and stopped using it in March, but said it did not open dam to drain it

- Residents expect the lake to refill with rain, though complain that the fish could have been saved if action was taken sooner

By Christopher Brennan For Dailymail.com

Published: 11:57 EST, 25 September 2015 | Updated: 13:25 EST, 25 September 2015

Residents near a northern California lake are left with nothing but the rotting carcasses of dead fish after the reservoir mysteriously lost all its water overnight.

The Mountain Meadow reservoir, also known as Walker Lake, was a popular spot for fishing before its 5,800 acres dried up the weekend of September 12.

Now thousands of fish are dead and those used to relaxing near the water near the city of Susanville face a putrid stench.

''It's amazing how many people have come out to see the destruction,' local Eddy Bauer, 56, said. 'My wife, for instance, was holding her nose, can't even stand the smell'.

Scroll down for video

<snip>

[bananas]

6. "one resident reported seeing Tom Selleck quietly leaving the area with a garden hose"

One of the comments at the Daily Mail:

Meanwhile at least one resident reported seeing Tom Selleck quietly leaving the area with a garden hose...

[C Moon]

33. :D

[4139]

4. Sounds like the foreshadowing scene at the beginning of a sci-di disaster movie

...next steam will start to rise in the middle of the night and the mud will bubble

[sdfernando]

9. Maybe we can have some beautiful geologist

check out what Zorin Enterprises is up to.

[4139]

11. Then..,

[saturnsring]

15. OMG IT"S GAMERA

[haikugal]

5. Either PG&E drained the lake or there's a hole it ran down...

What a shame the fish etc couldn't be saved or even harvested.

[louis-t]

7. Hmmm, Nestle operates in that area, don't they?

[erronis]

32. Expect to see it bottled in nice Fiji-style containers for $1.99/pop.

Maybe they can advertise that their Eau-De-MountainMeadows is enhanced with All Natural Vitamins and Minerals from fish carcases.

[Javaman]

8. fairly common but scary cause...

this same thing happened in florida several years back when they were going through a drought as well.

the scary cause is due to ground water dropping and the "plug", that kept the water in the lake in the first place, dried up and collapsed. thus draining the water.

the lake in Florida (I think it was lake scott) eventually filled back up.

I recall something about the original native American name loosely translated to something like; disappearing lake.

[Warpy]

10. That might be how the aquifers are replenished

meaning it's a natural process that takes place in periodic drought.

Still, I don't think I'm alone in hoping California has a wet winter this year and for the next several years so that surface water is replenished.

[arcane1]

26. I'm hoping I get to complain my ass off about the rain and wind and floods this winter!

[Warpy]

29. I hope so, too

because if you get it, we'll get the leftovers and our snowpack has been subnormal since the early 90s.

I just hope there aren't huge numbers of mudslides.

[C Moon]

34. I haven't heard anyone wishing otherwise. Although, if it's as bad as they say it might be...

there will be lots of complaining, regardless of the drought.
I've been through these El Niños before, and they can get bad, but we NEED it.

[Lochloosa]

17. Lake Jackson in Tallahassee, FL. It's on a 25 year cycle. And it's a big lake...3 miles long

I used to drive by it every morning on the way to work in the early 80's. I went to work one morning and it was there. It was gone when I drove by in the afternoon. People that lived on the lake said it sounded like a huge toilet flushing.

I've walked down to the sink hole on the video.

[Javaman]

37. That's it! thanks! :) nt

[FloriTexan]

18. Yes, Scott Lake, in Lakeland.

[lunatica]

22. I saw that on tv recently

It was very interesting. Maybe this lake is similar in that it has a plug.

Although I recall that you could see the hole in the lake in Florida. Nobody knew where it went.

[csziggy]

31. Lake Jackson in Tallahassee drains about every decade or two

It last drained in 2012, before that in 1999, 1982, 1957, 1936, 1935, 1932, and 1909. It drains down one or the other of two sinkholes that connect to the underground cave system that is under much of this area.

It's actually good for the lake. When the lake is dry, excess nutrients are used by grass and other growth removing the from the water. Usually the lake refills pretty quickly but in times of drought like in the 1930s it may fill and refrain in a fast cycle.

[Faux pas]

12. Don't miss

living in Cali at all! Yikes.

[Mz Pip]

13. Here's some local information.

We live near here part of the time. I got this email yesterday describing the situation.

Mountain Meadows Reservoir in Lassen County

Environmental stewardship is one of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) top priorities and is a commitment the company takes very seriously.

As a result of California’s severe drought conditions, Mountain Meadows Reservoir near Westwood in Lassen County has gone dry. It’s a situation we worked hard to avoid but water conditions this year are difficult.

PG&E knows that the drying of Mountain Meadows Reservoir disappoints area residents. Despite the cooperation and involvement of PG&E, the state Water Regional Control Board and the state Department of Fish & Wildlife, years of drought left little water runoff flowing into the reservoir.

The reservoir did not fill over the winter, and stream flows into it continued to be very low during the spring and summer.

On March 15, PG&E reduced water flows out of the reservoir to the minimum allowed in order to conserve water. PG&E has not used water from the reservoir to generate power since then (March 15), which was well before the rainy season ended.

An August heat wave further accelerated evaporation at the shallow reservoir. Due to concerns about a downstream fish habitat, as well as the fact that a nearby logging operation was using downstream water for dust control, it was determined not to stop or further reduce minimum flows out of the dam to conserve water.

Even if downstream flows were reduced further, the reservoir would have likely gone dry before the rainy season due to lack of inflow and high evaporation rates.

According to the state Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, the affected fish are warm water, non-native bass, catfish and sunfish, as well a small number of native minnows. None are designated as threatened and endangered species or species of special concern.

The three entities will work closely on an ongoing basis to manage future operations of the Mountain Meadows Reservoir.

[Jesus Malverde]

23. Drained the lake for logging..

PG&E are a parasitic corporation. They are a symptom of what's wrong in California.

[CreekDog]

25. the effects of drought are now a conspiracy?

not your best moment.

[Jesus Malverde]

28. I take it you didn't read the article, drained for logging or are aware that PGE

Recently killed 8 and blew up 20 homes cause they are cheap on maintenance. Then get to pass the fine on to the rate payers all the while the holding company is profitable and returning profits to investors.

Since reading might be hard consider watching silkwood.

Lulz

[Xithras]

14. It sounds like there's really no mystery.

The lake is extremely shallow and has had no water inflow for nearly two years because of the drought. While PG&E stopped using the lake for power generation earlier this year, they left the gates open to keep water flowing downstream so lake levels have been dropping steadily. Because the lake has an almost flat bottom, the lake went through its final transition from "large but very shallow" to "empty" very quickly. Cal DFW was apparently notified that the lake was about to drain empty a few days before the last of the water ran out, but there was nothing they could do for the fish. While PG&E is within its legal rights to let the water run out (they apparently thought there were several weeks of water left in the lake), the DFW is currently investigating them to find out if the resulting fish kill violated any state laws or DFW rules.

Imagine that you have a flat bottomed pan with a drain in the bottom. If you pour a gallon of water into the pan and let it drain, the entire bottom of the pan will be covered in water until the very end, because the flat bottom allows the water to spread. If you were an ant in the pan, you'd see the water level dropping around the edges, but the bottom of the pan would still appear "full". When the water finally dropped to the bottom of the pan, it would look like the pan drained almost instantly. That's what happened to this lake, but on a larger scale.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. The water may have gone here

First time in 20 years this river in India has flowed after a long-term drought (just happened last week). Weather Channel had posted the shorter video...

[Jesus Malverde]

24. Great video

Love the sound of unbridled joy.

[Curtis]

19. I live up here most of the year

And it's really not a big deal. The downstream also produces a lot of power for us up here aND they've kept Almanor and Butt Lakes levels hugh by emptying Walker. The drought is bad and Walker is the top of the line for the Feather River water system. Makes sense it would go dry first.

[valerief]

20. Frackers gotta get water from somewhere. nt

[V0ltairesGh0st]

21. Thanks Nestle

[yuiyoshida]

27. wow

[C Moon]

35. :O

[Bigmack]

30. There's a hole in the planet's arm where all the water goes

Jesus Christ died for nothing, I suppose.... (thanks John Prine) Ms Bigmack

[oldandhappy]

36. overnight?

I spent several summer birding along the shores of the lake. Back is those days there was huge development scheduled for the area that was going to use the water in the lake. Overnight seems strange. I suspect the drainage started long ago and then accelerated.

[jmowreader]

38. Get inspectors out there, right now

And not because the water may have leaked out through the dam.

On the Columbia River, north of its juncture with the Snake, there's a dam called Wanapum that contains a good-sized reservoir. A couple of years ago the dam developed cracks so bad they had to drain the reservoir to fix them. If this reservoir is already empty for whatever reason, this is the perfect time to check for cracks throughout the structure.