Folsom Lake is a popular place to go boating, but boat salesman Bob Bense says too much water is being released from the lake.
We set out to verify the claim. Right now, Folsom is at 48 percent capacity. If it drops below 400 feet, boaters will not be able to go faster than 5 miles per hour because part of the lake become inconsistent and shallow. Several boats ran a ground this summer and had to be repaired at Bense's shop.
"Water dropped two feet in the last 24 hours. It dropped 20 feet since the 15th of December. Do the math...it's getting low." Bense said.
The Bureau of Reclamation is in charge of releasing water at Folsom Dam. Benes was under the impression that if the water level dropped below 60 percent in the winter, large amounts of water would not be released from the lake.
Water is still being released, so we asked The Bureau of Reclamation. According to spokesperson Luis Moore, in the winter, lake levels are managed to prevent flooding in Sacramento. The Bureau of Reclamation likes to keep capacity at 60 percent, but only during flood season.
Before a storm, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency requests that the lake level is reduced to around 40 percent so water doesn’t fill the levy system.
Sacramento has a lot of water right now, and its Folsom Lake's job to hold back water. Right now, a small amount of water is being slowly released to reduce the lake capacity to 40 percent. The hope is that the storm waters will bring it right back up again.
"We will try and catch run off if not we will reduce the outlet." Moore said. The Bureau of Reclamation bases their decision off forecasts from the National Weather Service and the amount of water in reservoirs up stream.
Water is being released from Folsom Lake, but to verify the claim, "Too much water is being released from the lake," you need context to fully understand why water is being released.