Marine Patrol moves its boats due to low water; Water Resources looks at ramp extensions, seeks help identifying lake hazards
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Clear Lake’s dropping water level isn’t just presenting challenges to boaters and causing ramp closures, it’s now making it harder for the Lake County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol to keep its boats on the water, and county officials are asking for help in identifying hazards on the lake.
Clear Lake’s level was -1.54 feet Rumsey, the special measure for the lake, early Friday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey, or USGS, gauge.
For context, a mean of daily mean values for water years of record for 1913 to 2021 based on USGS data, puts the daily mean lake level for Aug. 27 at 2.31 feet Rumsey.
In 2014, the last serious drought year the state experienced, the lowest recorded lake level was -0.83 feet Rumsey.
The lowest level for Clear Lake in the 1977 drought year was -3.39 feet Rumsey, but the lowest lake depth recorded, -3.50 feet Rumsey, was in September 1920, the USGS reported.
Historic water level tracking from Lake County Water Resources shows that 2021 is among the four years with the lowest lake levels on record since 1873 — and at the rate it’s doing, it could end up with the record.
These conditions have prompted ramp closures around Clear Lake as water levels are too low to safely launch in some areas.
Sgt. Andy Davidson, who heads up Marine Patrol, said the division pulled its boats out of Braito’s Marina in Buckingham more than a month and a half ago.
The Marine Patrol is headquartered at Braito’s, but with water in the slips drying up, Davidson said they moved their boats to another location in the Kelseyville area, which he did not want to disclose.
He said they’re considering moving to the use of private docks if conditions continue to be challenging.
“I am going to have boats on the lake, no matter what,” he said.
The Marine Patrol has nine vessels, keeps six on the water in summer, and two to three on the lake in the winter, run by five part-time staffers and a volunteer, Davidson said.
He said his goal right now is to keep a few boats on the water through the winter, with the seasonal minimum staffing set to start soon.
Davidson said that in addition to Marine Patrol’s boats, State Parks also has a boat as does Northshore Fire, although Northshore’s boat isn’t in the water.
He said the big worry is how to get the Marine Patrol boats out of the water as conditions continue to become more shallow and more ramps close down. If the boat ramps at Fifth Street in Lakeport and in Clearlake Oaks, it will be a problem.
The year 2014, the most recent serious drought year, was “nothing like this,” said Davidson, and based on information he’s received — and which USGS numbers confirm — it’s not been since 1977 that the county has had such serious low water issues.
Having to move boats around to have enough water to launch also is delaying Marine Patrol’s response, Davidson said.
Because a lot of boat ramps are closing, Davidson said there has been less boat traffic than usual, but it’s still a lot. He added it also was a pretty normal season for boat crashes and accidents.
“It’s an interesting season,” he said.
Marine Patrol has to remain available to respond due to kayaks and other small craft still being able to get out on the water, Davidson said.
Officials report on ramp closures
Davidson and Lake County Water Resources reported that several public ramps are now closed.
Lucerne Harbor Park and Keeling Park in Nice were among the first to close this summer due to their shallow ramp depths, -1 foot Rumsey, and -2 feet Rumsey, respectively.
Crystal Lake Way Extension in north Lakeport, at a depth of 0 feet Rumsey, Lakeside County Park in Kelseyville, -3 feet Rumsey, and the Rodman Slough,-1.1 feet Rumsey, also are closed.
Davidson said Clear Lake State Park also has closed its ramps.
Lakeport’s Third Street boat ramp closed Aug. 2. City Manager Kevin Ingram told Lake County News that this is the first time since the ramp — built in 1984 — has been closed due to low water, although it came close in 2014. The depth at the end of that ramp is -3.6 feet Rumsey.
The city’s Fifth Street boat ramp remains open. The depth at the end of that ramp is -5.3 feet Rumsey, making it the deepest of the public ramps based on county information.
“There are a set of wide ranging prediction models that forecast the lake level to hit its low mark in November somewhere between -2.0 and -4.0 Rumsey,” Ingram said. “Based on staff analysis Fifth Street should not see any issues until the lake levels drop below -2.0. At that time we will need to begin monitoring it more closely to see if there are any issues with the lakebed at the end of the ramp. The issue is not necessarily the ramp itself but the depth of the water further out from the launch as there may not be sufficient depth to safely navigate out into the lake.”
The county’s Clearlake Oaks boat ramp, which has a depth of -3.6 feet Rumsey, remains open, as do the ramps at Redbud Park in Clearlake, where the depth is -3 feet.
Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora said earlier this month that he wasn’t sure how long the city could keep its ramps open.
He said the city is collaborating with Lake County Public Works, which is working on solutions to keep some ramps open, which he said he hoped included Redbud Park’s.
Public Works Director Scott De Leon told Lake County News county and city boat ramps alike are being considered for possible extensions to keep them open and usable in future low-water years.
“The primary consideration is the contour of the lake bottom beyond the end of the ramp and if the water gets deeper. A ramp that met that criteria could be a candidate for an extension that didn’t require extensive dredging — which would require significant environmental review,” De Leon said.
“We have no funding for elaborate topographic studies of each ramp, so we are relying on boaters who use the ramps to provide information. For example, I’ve been advised that a large sand-bar exists beyond the Third Street ramp in Lakeport, so extending that ramp may not be a candidate,” he added.
De Leon said the county would have to rely on grant funds to perform any of the work — including any significant engineering for the development of plans. He didn’t yet have dates for when such work might take place.
County seeks help marking lake hazards
One project Davidson said Marine Patrol has been focusing on recently is placing buoys owned by Lake County Water Resources out in areas where rocks are popping out of the lake due to the low water.
He said the buoys are necessary because people are hitting the rocks and breaking their boat propellers.
Between smoke, COVID-19 and no water, “It’s a tough year,” Davidson said.
Angela DePalma-Dow of Lake County Water Resources said the department has an “Aids to Navigation” page on its website to help boaters be aware of the situation on the lake.
A historic map of hazard areas and buoys is provided on that page, she said.
DePalma-Dow said Water Resources is looking for help marking hazards out on the lake.
She asked that boaters fill out this survey when they come across a hazard, which she said will help Water Resources and Marine Patrol locate and mark hazards.
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