Lahontan Reservoir nears record low; boaters warned to be careful

By Steve Timko, Reno Gazzette-Journal
August 15, 2008

The water level may reach near an historic low by the end of the summer because of a lack of rain and the Jan. 5 collapse of the Truckee River Irrigation Canal in Fernley, David Morrow, administrator for state parks, said.  While boating at Lahontan Reservoir is discouraged, the boat launch at Sand Harbor on Lake Tahoe could be closed by the end of August.
"What we guess is here in another few weeks, two or three weeks, the conditions will be difficult to impossible to get your boat in at the Sand Harbor boat ramp," Morrow said.  At Lahontan Reservoir, fed by the Truckee and Carson rivers, water levels dropped because of a double hit, Morrow said.
"I think there's no question that without being able to put the water they normally get from the (Truckee) canal, that made the situation worse," Morrow said. "But it's also very dry in the Carson River."
Lahontan can hold about 320,000 acre-feet. The Nevada Department of Wildlife reports the reservoir could drop this year to 13,000 to 14,000 acre-feet, still enough to protect the fish population there, spokesman Chris Healy said. Morrow said lower water levels mean more hazards for boaters. "I think the conditions are getting very, very poor and I think it would be difficult to put anything in the reservoir that was of any size," he said. Bad for business
The situation is hurting business. Missy Swain, owner of Burke's Market about 200 yards from the entrance to the reservoir, said her volume is down 80 percent. For the first time since she bought the store in 1996, she will close for the winter.

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