I have received some great questions regarding how the lake level will vary during the seismic retrofit project, and how recreation is affected.
By November 15th each year, Bass Lake typically is lowered to 50% of high water level, beginning in July and continuing through the fall. This allows the spring snow melt to fill up the lake again by the following May. The level you see in the Dam Cam now is 5 feet lower even than that to allow some work to progress below the dam, currently out of sight of the camera. The lake is at about 43% of capacity, but we still see fishing boats trolling daily if weather permits.
During the summers of 2009 and 2010, the lake level was brought up to 10 feet lower than full, or about 90% of capacity, and this summer will be the same, until the project is complete. We were initially concerned that recreation might be reduced, but were pleasantly surprised that recreational activities were minimally affected. Boating, skiing, wakeboarding, swimming, and fishing were all enjoyed normally, and without major incident.
A few boat slips were rendered unusable, but the staff at PG&E did a great job of working with those homeowners to make other accommodations. Some folks were allowed to move their docks out further; some added buoys to anchor their boats; and a few shared space with other owners. Very few of our vacation rental homes had to make these types of accommodations; most operated normally.
Some of our visitors who normally arrive in May or June were pleased to discover sandy beaches were available in more spots. 90% capacity is plenty of water for all activities here, and that is the level the lake is at typically during most of September & parts of October. The fall is lovely at Bass Lake, with warm water, sunshine, and less activity on the lake.
So to summarize, the lake is lower than normal now, will come up again to 90% full for summer 2011, then will be slowly lowered back down to 50% by November 2011. Recreational activities in all four seasons continue to be enjoyed.
We have been advised that work is progressing on schedule, calling for the seismic retrofit project to be completed in the spring of 2012 with normal lake level and lake operations to follow that summer.
Beth Carver, GRI
Managing Broker
Bass Lake Realty