Low Folsom Lake Water Levels Force Boaters To Leave Marina Early
FOLSOM (CBS13) – You can blame the drought; boating season ended Sunday – months earlier than usual for boaters who rent slips at Folsom Lake Marina.
You can see hundreds of boats dry-docked at the marina because the elevation in the lake has dropped so low their owners aren't allowed to leave them in the water anymore.
It looks like a nice day on the lake. But not for Jim Stinson, who is bringing his boat to the ramp just to dry-store it. Boating season for him is over.
"It's a bit sad because I know that I'd like to be on the lake all summer all the way to September. But the drought the last couple years, it just hasn't been that way," Stinson said.
Boats need to be out when the elevation of the lake drops to 412 feet. Now that it's at 414 feet, it's getting dangerously close. If owners don't remove their boats soon, they could have a tough time.
Jay Blanton found where his boat was docked. There was only eight feet of water before it hit the lake bed.
"So to leave it and even maybe wait a week, it's going to drop fairly low that's going to cause a problem as far as getting it out," Blanton said.
The marina's owners say in years past lake levels didn't dip this low until Labor Day. But they say the lake's elevation is now dropping two-thirds a foot a day.
And all these boats out of the water means a big hit to their business. From Cheetos at the snack bar to gas at the pumps, sales will be slow.
As far as their summer on the lake, boaters say they're disappointed.
"Yeah, it's extremely early," said boat owner Dick Warren.
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But in our fourth year of drought, it's not a surprise.
"[Because] we're running low on water. Just one of those things, like everything else," Warren said.
And now that everything else includes finding alternative ways to keep cool this summer.
The marina's owners are giving boat owners some leeway. While all the signs say boats have to be removed from the water today, people will be able to pull them out tomorrow.
The owners say in more than 40 years they've never had a problem with people getting their boats out when they're supposed to.
The lake is not closed to boating. But when the elevation drops to 400 feet, the speed limit drops to five miles an hour, and that could happen in the near future.