Sunday, September 29, 2013

Drought Effecting Man Made Lakes





It's very easy to take for granted how lucky us Wisconsinites and Minnesotans are with our plethora of lakes. While we'll most certainly have our dry season's, we really never have to worry about lakes drying up or our water sources being lost. So when I read stories about man made lakes in California losing the majority of their water, and communities struggling with a lack of water, it's something I just can't relate to too much. I read an article on Nacimiento Lake and Lake San Antonio in California, both man made, being effected by the extremely dry season currently taking in place in the Cal Poly region of California. The region is currently in it's third driest year on record in Cal Poly. The lakes were made to control flooding in winter months from strong winter storms, and then be a water source in the hot spring and summer months when the largest amounts of water are being consumed. Obviously, with dry weather the lakes didn't fill up over winter, and there's been no water available for these already dry spring and summer months. With no natural spring feeding these man made lakes, when there's no rain, there's no lake. Communities are feeling the pain of no rain, with not only their landscape drying up, but more importantly their tap water sources are limited effecting drinking water and utilities. There's really no way humans could have predicted when they built these lakes that drought would nearly dry up completely. However, we're seeing the impact a man made lake can have when relied upon for water. It's something we don't think about much here in the Midwest, but that many parts of the country and world have to deal with. http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/09/28/2708164/drought-hits-some-area-lakes-hard.html

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