Photo Credit: The Fresno Bee
Last month, Tulare Lake made a surprising comeback after a series of powerful storms caused it to canals, overflow, and flood the surrounding farmland and other developments. The return of the lake has created concerns about the long-term impact on groundwater levels in the region, as growers have resorted to groundwater to make up for reduced water allocations from the federal Central Valley Project due to the drought. While the resurgence of Tulare Lake has caused some disruptions for farmers, it also presents an opportunity to rethink how water resources are managed in California.
Tulare Lake is a significant historical landmark in California's San Joaquin Valley, with a complex history of development that has impacted the surrounding communities and agriculture. Once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River, the lake started shrinking in size in the late 1800s as growers began diverting water from the rivers that fed Tulare Lake to irrigate crops. By the early 1900s, the lake had shrunk to less than 10 percent of its original size due to agricultural development and drought.
The lake's resurgence is due to a combination of factors, including record-breaking rainfall and snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which have fed the rivers that flow into the lake. According to several estimates, the lake has grown to over 100 square miles and has the potential to grow to 200 square miles in the coming months based on snowpack data. However, the flooding caused by the lack of water storage has caused tremendous damage to farmland, dairies, homes, and more.
The return has highlighted the need for more sustainable water management practices, as over-pumping of groundwater can lead to long-term consequences on the region's water supply, leading to subsidence and the depletion of aquifers. A letter from the state Department of Water Resources on March 2 revealed that the land has dropped over 4.6 feet in one monitoring location and almost 5.2 feet in another from 2015 to 2022.
Although Tulare Lake has been vulnerable to occasional flooding during periods of heavy rainfall throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the recent flooding caused by the lake has disrupted the food supply chain and caused significant damage to crops. After the flooding in 1983, it took two years for farming activities to resume, and the current flooding may have a long-term impact on the region's agriculture.
