The Lake is Becoming a Pond

Saturday afternoon was just beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, and with temps in the low 70's. I put in at Farrington Point, and paddled about 15 miles to Vista Point and back. The lake is at very low levels right now due to the drought.

The rocks in the lower right are the end of the boat ramp, it's easy to see how low the lake is.

These tree stumps are usually under water.

It's pretty eerie paddling through this grave yard of stumps.

The lake covers 13,940 acres, certainly not large by some standards, but I've managed 35+ mile paddles. But right now, the lake is emptying.

Since June, engineers have had to send more water out of the Jordan Lake than what little water rains have sent into the lake behind it.

Normal levels are 216 ft, current levels are at 210 ft. Our area is classified as being in an 'exceptional drought', this is a higher level than 'extreme drought'.

Drought, a fixture in much of the West for nearly a decade, now covers more than one-third of the continental USA. Half the nation is either abnormally dry or in outright drought from prolonged lack of rain that could lead to water shortages.


According to the National Climatic Data Center, this is the driest spring in the Southeast since record-keeping began in 1895. Dry episodes have become so persistent in the West that some scientists and water managers say drought is the "new normal" there.

Reinforcing that notion are global-warming projections. Kathy Jacobs of the Arizona Water Institute says "Droughts will continue to come and go, but … higher temperatures are going to produce more water stress."

All of us need to pay attention to water conservation and management.