As docks get landlocked and algae blooms worsen, this mountain community is hoping for the best and planning for the worst.
Look up, and lucky visitors to Big Bear Lake’s north shore this summer might be able to spot the mountain community’s. But in recent weeks, visitors have looked down and seen some less natural things along the lake’s rapidly expanding shoreline.
The lake didn’t drop to that level even once from 1978, after current lake management practices started, through 2003. But with this drought, Big Bear’s water level has now slipped under the 50% mark three times in the past 18 years. And Stephenson said the transition was faster this time than ever before.
Lines on the rocks show previous water levels on Treasure Island/Garstin Island in Fawnskin, CA, on Friday, August 26, 2022. The lake is 16 1/2 feet below full and algae is giving the water a green hue. A dock sits on muddy ground near the Stanfield Cutoff in Big Bear Lake, CA, on Friday, August 26, 2022. The lake is 16 1/2 feet below full and algae is giving the water a green hue.
A visitors to Boulder Bay walks on the dock in Big Bear Lake, CA, on Friday, August 26, 2022. The lake is 16 1/2 feet below full and algae is giving the water a green hue. Docks sit on the embankment in Boulder Bay in Big Bear Lake, CA, on Friday, August 26, 2022. The lake is 16 1/2 feet below full and algae is giving the water a green hue.
Also, the livelihoods of thousands of Big Bear Valley residents are tied up in having a healthy lake. Each winter, area ski resorts use lake water to make the snow they need to stay in business between increasingly infrequent storms. And each summer, the town needs a healthy lake to lure “flatlanders” to stay in mountain hotels, eat at neighborhood restaurants and shop in local stores.
The Big Bear Municipal Water District started managing the lake in 1964. And in 1977, after some years of legal wrangling, a judgment came down that said lake water could only be released for use in the valley below if the lake is within four feet of full capacity. Since that time, fluctuations in lake levels have been almost fully dependent on Mother Nature.
The cycle held, though, and the lake was full again in 2011. And that year marked the most recent time that Stephenson’s team released any lake water, letting 10,000 acre feet flow to the valley below. When Stephenson helped crews create that island in the marsh, in 2004, they thought the surrounding waters would be high enough at least 80% of the time to keep coyotes and people far enough away so that the waterfowl could nest in peace. But it’s been five years since there was water in the marsh and, last summer, Stephenson said they had to chase away a group of tourists who were playing flag football in the preserve.
Typically, kids from the school walk over to the nearby lake one day in late summer and watch as numbered rubber ducks that families have paid to sponsor float to a finish line. Since the usual race area is where the algae bloom currently is most intense, the booster club got the OK to re-route the ducks over the water slide at Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain park, with the kids cheering them on via livestream from the school auditorium.
“Even at 16 feet down, it’s a beautiful lake. The surface area is still really good,” Hafen said, pointing at a sailboat as it cruised by his marina.“To be honest, I would say we’re worried about what the future holds.”Hafen still has all 300 of his marina’s slips in the water and he said revenue this year is on par with 2019, before the pandemic. But if the lake drops another five or seven feet, Hafen said he would start to lose income-generation slips.
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