CLIMATE CHANGE PUTTING A DAMPER ON RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Water has always been a concern in California, especially in the Central Valley.

People who depend on water for recreation, such as Mike Pawlawski, are affected when there’s a drought. Pawlawski and his family visit Millerton Lake at least once every two weeks. He says every time he hauls his boat to the lake, there’s aways less and less water.

“Two weeks ago we were launching on a different ramp here,” Pawlawski says. “If I were to guess, it has another three to four weeks before they move to the next low set of ramps. There are boat launch ramps underwater right now that will surface as the level of the lake drops.”

Ranger supervisor Steve Barber says this is the norm for Millerton Lake. Sometimes there is too little water and sometimes there’s too much.

“Water is here primarily for agriculture use,” Barber says. “That prevents us from making any type of permanent facilities in the scar of the high watermark.”

Fresno State professor, Dr. Sharon Benes studies irrigation water use. She says climate change is blamed for wild weather swings that cause longer dry periods and wetter winters. She expects the valley to experience more droughts in the future.

“Typically what happens then is we experience less snow in the Sierra and more of that precipitation, that rain rather than snow, and the snow is the storage of water that we have,” Benes said.

Less snow in the mountains will mean less water for the lakes and rivers. Some local visitors will have to seek higher water elsewhere.

For more information on local rivers and lakes visit www.californiasgreatlakes.com