LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Yuba Community College Board is set to have another meeting in Lake County this week.
The board will meet on Thursday, March 14, at the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College, 15880 Dam Rd Extension, Rooms 209 to 211.
A closed session will be held beginning at 3 p.m., with the regular board meeting at 5 p.m.
Members of the public may opt to attend this meeting virtually. The Zoom link is https://yccd-edu.zoom.us/j/85289077257; the meeting ID is 852 8907 7257. The call-in number is +1 669 900 6833.
To access the YCCD Governing Board meeting agendas, please visit https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/yccd/board.nsf/public#.
On Thursday, the board will consider extending the employment of the interim director of the Health and Medical Career Program and nursing, and as well as the extension and conversion of the employment of the college’s acting director of institutional effectiveness.
They also will discuss nonresident tuition, the STEM building modernization, easement dedications, the elimination of three full-time equivalent college police officer positions, the 2022-23 Audit Response Plan and a number of reports.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — The Middletown Area Town Hall, or MATH, will get updates on local projects and discuss the local election results.
MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 14, in the Middletown Community Meeting Room/Library at 21256 Washington St., Middletown. The meeting is open to the public.
To join the meeting via Zoom click on this link; the meeting ID is 869-1824-5695, pass code is 808449. Call in at 669-900-6833.
The meeting will be recorded and livestreamed by Mediacom Public Education and Government Channel, or Lake County PEG TV.
On the agenda is an update from Pacific Gas and Electric on the GI landfill project on Butts Canyon Road and hear from Chief Climate Resiliency Officer Terre Logsdon on a report on survey results and community priorities.
MATH also will offer suggestions to the supervisor for use of discretionary funds, discuss MATH bylaw amendments per the Lake County counsel and as presented at the February meeting, and discuss the results of the March 5 election.
MATH — established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 — is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.
For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Registrar of Voters office reported that the official canvass for the March 5 primary is underway, with thousands of ballots still to be counted.
The agency said the results for the primary posted so far are not final, with the Elections Office now in the midst of the 30-day official canvass period.
As of Friday, still to be counted were 8,059 vote-by-mail ballots, 266 provisional/conditional ballots and 149 vote-by-mail ballots that require further review for various reasons, for a grand total of 8,474 ballots.
In addition, the Registrar of Voters Office reported that the deadline for elections officials to receive vote-by-mail ballots returned by mail for the March 5 Presidential Primary Election is March 12 if it is postmarked on or before Election Day and delivered to the elections office by the US Postal Service or a private mail delivery company no later than seven days after Election Day.
Elections officials said there are many checks and balances when certifying the election results. The process of certifying election results, also known as the official canvass, is mandated by state law to make sure the public can have confidence in the integrity of the final results. Staff members are working very diligently on completing all tasks required to certify the election.
“Vote-by-mail” ballots must be examined by staff to see if the signature compares with the voter’s signature on file.
After the vote-by-mail voter’s information has been entered and proofed, the vote-by-mail envelopes have to be sorted by voting precinct. Staff must verify the number of vote-by-mail processed by the voting precinct before the envelopes can be opened. Once staff balances, the envelopes can be opened.
“Polls provisional ballots” are cast at the polling places on Election Day. Some of the reasons a voter is issued a Provisional Ballot:
• The voter’s name is listed on the active voter roster list as a vote-by-mail voter and the voter is unable to surrender his/her vote-by-mail ballot in order to be issued a polls ballot. • The voter’s name is not printed in the roster-index, has moved and did not re-register to vote at his/her new residence address. • A voter is voting in the wrong voting precinct and not his/her assigned voting precinct. • A first time voter who is required to provide ID, but is unable to do so. • The voter’s eligibility to vote cannot be determined by the poll worker.
“Conditional voter ballots” issued to a person who missed the regular voter registration deadline of Feb. 20 but they still have the option to vote in an election by conditionally registering to vote and casting a conditional ballot (same day voter registration).
Voters that were allowed to sign the roster-index and issued a ballot at their assigned polling place, their voted ballot was counted at the Registrar of Voters office, on Election Night.
In addition, all of the roster-Indexes must also be examined for errors or omissions. Staff checks the ballot statement including the number of returned voted ballots against the number of voters who signed the roster-index.
Provisional and conditional voter signatures also need to match the number of voter provisional and conditional ballots. Once this is done, staff must enter voter history from each of the roster-indexes and record it into the voting system as voter history.
For more information call the Registrar of Voters Office at 707-263-2372 or toll-free at 888-235-6730.
To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here; the meeting ID is 814 1135 4347, pass code is 847985.
To join by phone, dial 1-669-444-9171; for one tap mobile, 16694449171,,81411354347#,,,,*847985#.
Comments can be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To give the city clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments before 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13.
On the agenda is the annual progress report for the housing element.
Commissioners also will discuss the planning department and commission goals for this year.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The meeting ID is 842 2886 1335, pass code is 594383 or join by phone, 1 669 900 6833.
The meeting is open to the public.
Chair Wilda Shock said JoAnn Saccato will give a presentation that will link health to components of the next economic development strategic plan for the city of Lakeport, “How Community Health Shapes Economic Prosperity: Strategies for Sustainable Solutions.”
Shock said it will explore the relationship between community health and businesses' bottom line from the national to local level, offer strategies and tactics individuals and communities are taking to address these issues before they start, saving businesses and taxpayers hard-earned dollars, and elevating health and well-being for all.
In other business, they will discuss the business walk, receive economic development updates and hear updates from city of Lakeport staff, including information on Tractor Supply and Marshalls and the Vista Point Shopping Center.
LEDAC’s next meeting will be May 8.
LEDAC advocates for a strong and positive Lakeport business community and acts as a conduit between the city and the community for communicating the goals, activities and progress of Lakeport’s economic and business programs.
Members are Chair Wilda Shock, Vice Chair Denise Combs and Secretary JoAnn Saccato, along with Bonnie Darling, Jeff Davis, Candy De Los Santos, Bill Eaton, Monica Flores, Pam Harpster, Laura McAndrews Sammel, Bob Santana and Tim Stephens. City staff who are members include City Manager Kevin Ingram and Community Development Department representatives.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College invites community members to join them in their celebration in honor of Women’s History Month with a panel discussion among “Women in Education.”
The event will be held Thursday, March 14, from noon to 1 p.m. in room 715.
This panel discussion will bring together a dynamic group of women leaders in education to discuss their experiences, challenges and triumphs in education.
New Woodland Community College President Dr. Lizette Navarette will lead the panel, which will include Lake County Campus interim Dean Patricia Barba, Konocti Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Becky Salato, Lake County mental health practitioner and Konocti Unified Board Member Zabdy Neria and Angela Cuellar, Lake County Office of Education QRIS director and early childhood education adjunct instructor for Woodland and Mendocino colleges.
Lunch will be available for purchase at Aromas Café from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information contact Mary Wilson at 707-995-7913 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
If you ask American voters what their top issues are, most will point to kitchen-table issues like the economy, inflation, crime, health care or education.
Fewer than 5% of respondents in 2023 and 2024 Gallup surveys said that climate change was the most important problem facing the country.
Despite this, research that I conducted with my colleages suggests that concern about climate change has had a significant effect on voters’ choices in the past two presidential elections. Climate change opinions may even have had a large enough effect to change the 2020 election outcome in President Joe Biden’s favor. This was the conclusion of an analysis of polling data that we published on Jan. 17, 2024, through the University of Colorado’s Center for Social and Environmental Futures.
What explains these results, and what effect might climate change have on the 2024 election?
Measuring climate change’s effect on elections
We used 2016 and 2020 survey data from the nonpartisan organization Voter Study Group to analyze the relationships between thousands of voters’ presidential picks in the past two elections with their demographics and their opinions on 22 different issues, including climate change.
The survey asked voters to rate climate change’s importance with four options: “unimportant,” “not very important,” “somewhat important” or “very important.”
In 2020, 67% of voters rated climate change as “somewhat important” or “very important,” up from 62% in 2016. Of these voters rating climate change as important, 77% supported Biden in 2020, up from 69% who supported Hillary Clinton in 2016. This suggests that climate change opinion has been providing the Democrats with a growing electoral advantage.
Using two different statistical models, we estimated that climate change opinion could have shifted the 2020 national popular vote margin (Democratic vote share minus Republican vote share) by 3% or more toward Biden. Using an Electoral College model, we estimated that a 3% shift would have been large enough to change the election outcome in his favor.
These patterns echo the results of a November 2023 poll. This poll found that more voters trust the Democrats’ approach to climate change, compared to Republicans’ approach to the issue.
What might explain the effect of climate change on voting
So, if most voters – even Democrats – do not rank climate change as their top issue, how could climate change opinion have tipped the 2020 presidential election?
Our analysis could not answer this question directly, but here are three educated guesses:
First, recent presidential elections have been extremely close. This means that climate change opinion would not need to have a very large effect on voting to change election outcomes. In 2020, Biden won Georgia by about 10,000 votes – 0.2% of the votes cast – and he won Wisconsin by about 20,000 votes, 0.6% of votes cast.
Second, candidates who deny that climate change is real or a problem might turn off some moderate swing voters, even if climate change was not those voters’ top issue. The scientific evidence for climate change being real is so strong that if a candidate were to deny the basic science of climate change, some moderate voters might wonder whether to trust that candidate in general.
Third, some voters may be starting to see the connections between climate change and the kitchen-table issues that they consider to be higher priorities than climate change. For example, there is strong evidence that climate change affects health, national security, the economy and immigration patterns in the U.S. and around the world.
Where the candidates stand
Biden and former President Donald Trump have very different records on climate change and approaches to the environment.
On the other hand, the U.S. has also become the world’s largest producer of oil and gas, and the largest exporter of natural gas, during Biden’s term.
In the current campaign, Trump has promised to eliminate subsidies for renewable energy and electric vehicles, to increase domestic fossil fuel production and to roll back environmental regulations. In practice, some of these efforts could face opposition from congressional Republicans, in addition to Democrats.
Nonetheless, doing something about climate change remains much more popular than doing nothing. For example, a November 2023 Yale survey found 57% of voters would prefer a candidate who supports action on global warming over a candidate who opposes action.
What this means for 2024
Our study found that between the 2016 and the 2020 presidential elections, climate change became increasingly important to voters, and the importance voters assign to climate change became increasingly predictive of voting for the Democrats. If these trends continue, then climate change could provide the Democrats with an even larger electoral advantage in 2024.
Of course, this does not necessarily mean that the Democrats will win the 2024 election. For example, our study estimated that climate change gave the Democrats an advantage in 2016, and yet Trump still won that election because of other issues. Immigration is currently the top issue for a plurality of voters, and recent national polls suggest that Trump currently leads the 2024 presidential race over Biden.
Nonetheless, if the election were held today, the totality of evidence suggests that most voters would prefer a climate-conscious candidate, and that most climate-conscious voters currently prefer a Democrat.
On Monday, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04), Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Rep. Ken Calvert (CA-41) and Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-01) sent a letter to the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry urging the committees to include permanent disaster assistance for agricultural producers and communities in the upcoming Farm Bill.
“Agriculture is the backbone of our economy in California and in states across the country,” said Thompson. “Unfortunately, agriculture is also disproportionately impacted by natural disasters. The Farm Bill must include permanent disaster assistance so that our growers and producers are able to rebuild and recover when they are impacted by worsening natural disasters.”
“From droughts drying out farmland, to wildfires and smoke, to historic storms that flooded fields across the state, our farming communities face disproportionate impacts from natural disasters,” said Sen. Padilla. “Our growers need and deserve reliable relief — we must have a long-term solution to ensure they can quickly get back on their feet following disasters. By permanently authorizing the Emergency Relief Program, this bill will swiftly administer aid to support our farmers, bolster our economic safety net, and improve our resiliency against the climate crisis.”
“The Emergency Disaster Assistance program is an important safety net for California farmers who are all too often impacted by natural disasters. I’m thankful for the bipartisan support of my colleague Rep. Mike Thompson and our California delegation colleagues,” said Calvert.
“Agriculture producers continue to be hit by floods, frost, wildfires, and more. The upcoming Farm Bill needs to include our bill, the Agricultural Emergency Relief Act, to create a permanent program at the USDA to provide quick relief for farmers who lost crops due to natural disasters so that they’re not waiting seasons for aid to come in,” said LaMalfa.
Reps. Thompson, Calvert, and LaMalfa and Senator Padilla were joined by 22 members of the California delegation.
The full letter is published below.
Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking Member Boozman, Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Scott:
As members of the California Congressional Delegation, we are bringing to your attention the impacts and sizable losses felt by California’s agricultural producers and communities throughout 2023 due to relentless natural disasters. We strongly urge that the upcoming Farm Bill include permanent disaster assistance to give growers the timely assistance they need to recover from natural disasters.
California accounts for 12.5 percent of the nation’s agricultural production and over 60 percent of the national value of fruit and nut crops in the United States. By itself, it is the 5th largest supplier of food in the world. When natural disasters impact California farms, the impact is felt far beyond the state.
During 2023, producers throughout California faced severe and unprecedented weather events. From multiple atmospheric rivers after years of historic drought and the impacts of Hurricane Hilary, it is estimated that the state has been hit with a staggering $2.4 billion in agricultural damages and losses.
While Congress continues to work towards a disaster relief package that adequately addresses these concerns in the near term, our constituents need us to address the current implementation challenges producers are facing with the Emergency Relief Program going forward. It is critical that the Farm Bill creates a consistent and standing framework for the Emergency Relief Program rather than the current year-to-year ad hoc program which causes confusion and delays in implementation.
That is why we respectfully ask that the Agricultural Emergency Relief Act introduced by the late Senator Feinstein, Senator Padilla, and Representatives LaMalfa and Thompson, which authorizes a permanent Emergency Relief Program structure, be included in this year’s Farm Bill.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has a variety of dogs waiting for new homes this week.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Australian shepherd, border collie, boxer, German shepherd, hound, husky Labrador retriever, pit bull, Queensland heeler, Rottweiler, shepherd and terrier.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
Those dogs and the others shown on this page at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
The shelter is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Two Northshore men died Sunday night after the vehicle in which they were traveling crashed through a fence and landed in a swimming pool, trapping and killing both.
The crash occurred shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday on Butte Street in Nice, according to a report from the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.
The names of the two men who died — the 39-year-old driver from Nice and the 34-year-old passenger from Upper Lake — were not immediately released pending the notification of next of kin.
The CHP said that at 10:18 p.m. Sunday CHP Officer Officer Zachary Cornell was dispatched to a solo vehicle traffic crash involving a red 2021 Subaru WRX that hit a fence and landed in a swimming pool at a residence on Tehama Street.
Radio reports indicated that the vehicle landed upside down in about six feet of water, with the individual who called the CHP indicating that they couldn’t get those inside of the vehicle out of it.
Shortly after the crash, the Northshore Dive Team was requested to respond to the team to assist with the rescue, according to radio reports.
The CHP said that its investigation so far has found that the Subaru was traveling on Butte Street when it went over the embankment.
Neither the driver nor the passenger, who was found in the rear seat, were wearing seat belts, at the time of the crash, the CHP said.
The cause of the collision is still under investigation, however, the CHP said in its preliminary statement on the crash that alcohol use is suspected to be a factor.
Along with the CHP and Northshore Fire Protection District, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and All in One Towing responded to the scene to assist with the crash recovery.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider the formation of a new municipal advisory council to serve Kelseyville and the Big Valley area.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 12, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting ID is 898 7006 8634, pass code 035628. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16694449171,,89870068634#,,,,*035628#. The meeting can also be accessed via phone at 669 900 6833.
In an item timed for 10:30 a.m., the board will consider a resolution establishing the Kelseyville Area Council as the municipal advisory committee for the Kelseyville area in District 5.
Also on Tuesday, the board is scheduled to hear at 10 a.m. Higher Ground Farms’ appeal of the Planning Commission’s Jan. 11 denial of its cannabis operation, proposed to be located at 3545 Finley East Road in Kelseyville, next door to the historic Kelsey Creek Schoolhouse. However, the appellant is now seeking a continuance until April 23.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt proclamation commending Operation Tango Mike For 21 Years of service in supporting our military personnel deployed around the world.
5.2: Adopt proclamation designating the month of March 2024, as American Red Cross Month in Lake County.
5.3: Adopt proclamation designating March 17 to 23, 2024, as National Agriculture Week.
5.4: Approve travel to Las Vegas for Deputy County Administrative Officer Benjamin Rickelman, to attend ICSC Las Vegas from May 19 to 22, 2024.
5.5: Approve agreement for consulting service to provide a needs assessment between county of Lake and Avero Advisors in the amount of $159,711, and authorize the chair to sign.
5.6: Approve Amendment No. 1 to the agreement between county of Lake and Lisa Warner, MBA for support services for managed care in the amount of $30,000 for fiscal year 2023-24 and authorize the chair to sign.
5.7: Approve the qualified list from the request for qualifications for on-call landscape architecture and planning services.
5.8: Approve the agreement between the county of Lake and SCS Engineers for construction quality assurance services for the Eastlake Landfill Phase One Cell Construction Expansion Project in the amount of $408,206 and authorize the chair to sign the agreement.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:03 a.m.: Pet of the Week.
6.3, 9:04 a.m.: New and Noteworthy at the Library.
6.4, 9:05 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation commending Operation Tango Mike for 21 years of service in supporting our military personnel deployed around the world.
6.5, 9:07 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating March 17 to 23, 2024, as National Agriculture Week.
6.6, 9:09 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of March 2024, as American Red Cross Month in Lake County.
6.7, 9:10 a.m.: Consideration of presentation of the American Red Cross Community Adaptation Program.
6.8, 9:25 a.m.: Consideration of Presentation of the Lake County Community Foundation.
6.9, 9:30 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration to approve by resolution submittal of a funding application in the amount of $372,232 to the State Housing and Community Development Agency for Community Development Block Grant Program Income to Continue and Expand the County Microenterprise Technical Assistance Program.
6.10, 10 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of appeal (AB 24-01) of Planning Commission’s denial of major use permit (UP 20-40), Higher Ground Farms/John Oliver applicant and appellant; location: 3545 Finley East Road, Kelseyville (APN: 008-026-07) (APPELLANT HAS REQUESTED A CONTINUANCE TO APRIL 23, 2024).
6.11, 10:30 a.m.: Consideration of resolution establishing the Kelseyville Area Council (KAC) as the Municipal Advisory Committee for the Kelseyville Area in District 5.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of appointments to the Library Advisory Committee and the General Plan Advisory Committee.
7.3: Consideration of revisions to the employee appreciation and team building policy.
7.4: Consideration of agreement between county of Lake and Adventist Health St. Helena and Vallejo for acute inpatient psychiatric hospital services and professional services associated with acute inpatient psychiatric hospitalization in the amount of $3,000,000 for fiscal years 2023-26.
7.5: Consideration of updated hiring incentive policy to allow department heads to automatically qualify for the hiring incentive.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Public employee evaluation: County librarian.
8.2: Public employee evaluation: Social Services director.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Is there an easy and quick way to learn about the stream and lake levels in Clear Lake? I was also wondering what your expert guess/prediction would be on the Rumsey level of Clearlake after this current storm passes through?
Thank you,
- Lake Level Larry
Hello Larry,
Great question and perfect for this time of year! We have been getting quite a bit of rain and that means the creeks and streams will have high flows of water, which do flow to Clear Lake. Every year I get lots of questions about how the stream and lake levels are measured and where that information can be found.
Lake and stream level data is collected from permanent gauge stations. Usually these gauges are installed, calibrated, and quality controlled by state or federal agencies. The majority of gauges situated around Lake County are managed by the United States Geological Survey, or USGS, and California Department of Water Resources, or CDWR.
Gauge technology has come such a long way! The internet has helped. Most government funded gauges are connected to a website where real-time or updated measurement data can be viewed and downloaded.
Gage / Gauge language
Before you start to write me that email about my use of gage vs. gauge, please read the following disclaimer where I directly address the gage / gauge spelling issue.
While I have received many, many emails providing me the right gage/gauge to use, here are some gauge facts. The vernacular use of “gage” and “gauge” can be used interchangeably and both can be used as a verb or a noun. Technically, the word “gage” is a different word altogether (it means to throw down a challenge, like a knight proposing combat). But while knighthood battles are mostly extinct, the word “gage” is still maintained in the English language.
The USGS has a historical affinity for the use of “gauge”, but more recently uses gage (for any of the USGS plot displays, the word “gage” is provided). According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, considering global use, “gauge” is the preferred variant of this word and is more commonly used than “gage”. According to ESL.com, the word “gage” is becoming obsolete.
If you ask the Lady of the Lake, life is too short to gauge your happiness by the amount and type of gages being counted, but don’t mind me and pick the gauge/gage that is right for you!
Now, back to the vocabulary.
Below we will cover some stream gage terminology that will be useful when accessing and viewing stream gage data websites. Like most things in science, there are specific terms that are used to distinguish units of measurement so that there is no confusion when communicating information.
Stream stage = height of the water from the bottom of the gage located within the stream, which may or may not reflect the deepest part of the stream. Stream bottoms and sides can change in depth as sediments move, shift, get pushed around or pile up.
However, a permanent gage station will always report the stream gauge from a stationary fixed point so that the data collected over time is consistent and comparable and not reflective of changing stream bottom. Usually stream gauge locations are selected to be where the least amount of change in a stream will occur, but variation is always common in natural systems. Most technically advanced gauges these days are calibrated with elevation considered into the transducer that measures the water depth.
Stream flow or discharge = this is velocity or speed of the water and the amount of water flowing past the point where the measurement is being collected, generally at the gage station. For example, the discharge of Middle Creek during any given storm could be 1,400 cubic feet per second, or CFS or ft³/s. So in one second, about 1,400 cubic feet of water passed the gauge on Middle Creek. That is quite a bit of water for our regional creeks, but to put it in perspective, The Mississippi River has an average discharge of 593,000 CFS!!
Forecast = a statement of prediction. For the stream gauge, the river forecast visually shows predicted conditions of stream stage, flow, discharge, and sometimes even precipitation based on climate data and expectations for upcoming weather.
Guidance = is the modeled predicted conditions of stream stage and flow. Usually this is based on years of previous data and models, in conjunction with forecast information. Guidance is more of a “sure thing” than forecasted data, but they are both expectations of future conditions and are subject to change.
Current stream and river stage and flow data
There are lots of resources available online for anyone to access real-time stream and river data. I will share two of my favorites with you. I suggest you take some time and explore these resources to see all they have to offer, which can be quite a bit of information that can be useful in different ways.
My personal favorite site is the California Nevada River Forecast Center. The California Nevada River Forecast Center, or CNRFC, is a field office of the National Weather Service located in Sacramento, California. The CNRFC is co-located with the Sacramento NWS Forecast Office, CDWR, and United States Bureau of Reclamation. The NWS is an agency of the National Oceanic Atmospheric and Administration, or NOAA, under the United States Department of Commerce.
I can not emphasize enough how much I love this website; I have all of our county and Lake gage pages from this website bookmarked on my phone browser and my work and home computers. I have used this website for many projects from monitoring post-fire debris flows, first flush stormwater monitoring, and flood preparation and flood watch.
It is also very user friendly and displays a lot of very useful information in only one or two scrolls on a computer or smart phone. The graphical plot of past, current, forecast, and guidance data is easy to view and easy to understand.
If you are new to this website, and need some guidance, you can refer to this video I made, from a previous column, that walks through the website to get to the data display and stream plots for local data.
In this video tutorial, Lady of the Lake demonstrates how to access local stream gauge information on both the California Nevada River Forecast Network and California Data Exchange Center Websites.
Water Resource managers use stream stage data regularly. Safe operation of diversion structures, weirs, or dams are dependent on the opening or closing of structures and gates at certain thresholds of stream stage or flow. Predictive gage information is valuable because it allows managers to monitor multiple stream gage sites at once without having to sit on site in potentially hazardous conditions for hours waiting for the threshold to hit.
Prediction data is also wonderful in that it allows the public to use the same tools that are available to researchers and agencies - making it easy for everyone to be best prepared when conditions change are of a concerning nature.
Additionally, during spring when Clear Lake Hitch are starting their spawning migrations upstream, the flow data in streams around Clear Lake is being used to help identify preferred conditions for hitch and reproduction success. This information is playing a huge role in the management and recovery of this important and state-threatened fish species.
If you live adjacent to a stream or river and are concerned about flooding, I would look into exploring if a stream gauge is located somewhere on that stream system. You don’t need to be near a stream gauge for the data to provide value, as long as one is located somewhere along the stream.
Some gage stations even have automatic alerts you can set up on your smartphone that will automatically send a text message should a specific river or stream reach a certain stage or flow. A good place to learn about such a tool is USGS WaterAlert.
The next resource is California Data Exchange Center, or CDEC. This website is managed by CDWR and while it does have some prediction power, the majority of gage information here is real-time and archival. However, it’s pretty easy to use and has a large network of gauges and data that expands across all of California.
One thing about the CDEC is the data is focused on river information. The tabs at the top of the home page provide a lot of the type of data and tools available, and makes it easy to search for what you might need. Historic water data is also easily available on CDEC, making it easy to conduct a study on your local stream or river.
One thing to be aware of with CDEC is that the website can get pretty busy and bogged down during popular use times. If there is a heavy storm event and people and agencies are looking for river data and flood conditions, this website might get really slow and pages might not load as quickly, so be patient.
Also, CDEC usually doesn't provide forecast or guidance data on their plots, that is something that CNRFC specializes in with their partnership with USGS.
Measuring lake levels
Clear Lake level is determined in a very unique way, different from all other lakes and reservoirs. Clear Lake uses the Rumsey gauge to measure lake levels. I described this in my column, “Learning about Lake Levels” from Oct. 17, 2021 and again in “Revisiting Lake Levels and Lake Hazards” from March 2023.
Daily lake level data is measured from an in-lake gauge (#11450000, CNRFC gage CLKC1) operated and maintained by the USGS and housed at the lakeside Lake County Vector Control District Offices and be accessed online here.
Last year, during the wet season after we were coming out of a 3-year drought, I wrote a column about predicting lake level rise. With the lake starting at negative Rumsey, it was hard to predict exactly how much rain was needed to get to a full lake.
Luckily, CNRFC has added lake level forecasts into their models and displays this information on their lake level plot. The period of the line in green is reflective of the forecast based on previous 6-day trends of the precipitation and lake level rise. The portion in pink is the guidance, or estimated lake level.
Larry, here is where you can answer your question about the expected lake levels. Using the CNRFC plotted forecast information, the lake level is expected to rise to 8.5 ft Rumsey by the end of this current storm event that ends Wednesday.
In general, once the lake is full at 7.56 feet Rumsey, and the watershed is saturated from several storm events, the rise of the lake corresponds to about 1 inch rise for every 4 to 5 inches of rain. So, if we got 5 inches of rain, we would expect to see about 1 feet of lake level increase.
Logistically, the lake is rising from the rain itself (collecting in the lake) and the collection of runoff from the landscape and tributaries flowing into the lake contributes to the lake level increase. According to the Lake County Water Resources Department Historical Levels of Clear Lake High and Low there is 10% chance of getting to minor flood stage, and 1% chance of the lake getting to major flood stage in any given year.
Also, the Lake County Water Resources Department monitors the daily lake level and can provide that to you by phone at 707-263-2344, if you do not have access to the website and they have all the links for all the regional gages, located on their website at the “Hydrologic Information” Tab located here.
Clear Lake water level lowers slowly
It's important to understand that if the lake reaches a critical flood stage, there is nothing that can be done to magically make the water recede “faster” because the water has to work its way out through the Grigsby Riffle and Cache Creek dam. Therefore, it’s up to the residents who live in low lying areas to be prepared in the event of high water and resulting flood conditions.
The reason why water leaves the lake so slowly is because there is only one outflow compared to the many inflows. The single outflow of the lake is located in the Lower Arm past Anderson Marsh State Park. The outflow becomes constrained within a natural rock and gravel formation called the Grigsby Riffle located in Cache Creek. The water then flows through Lower Lake and to the Cache Creek Dam managed by Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.
To better understand how lake levels and flows interact over the Grigsby Riffle and into Cache Creek, you have to understand how Clear Lake is different from Reservoirs. The Water Resources Department recently created a profile infographic that depicts the lake basins and how water flows into the lake and out through the Cache Creek dam during different water scenarios and how it’s connected to Cache Creek.
Whether the lake is baseline full at 7.56 Rumsey or in flood stage, there is a maximum amount of water that can flow over the Grigsby Riffle and into Cache Creek. Opening the dam gates does keep that water flow in Cache Creek consistent and moving, but there is a maximum flow of water that can move over the Grigsby Riffle which is about a 4,700 CFS maximum even when the lake is at peak flood (11 ft Rumsey).
When you live on or around Clear Lake, one of the most important things to understand about flow leaving Clear Lake is that the Cache Creek Dam does not control the amount of water that can flow from the lake and the dam does not cause flooding around the lake.
The Cache Creek dam is actually built for a bigger stream system than what Clear Lake can provide down to Cache Creek. Cache Creek Dam is designed to release water at 21,000 cubic feet per second (cfs). However, Clear Lake outflow, combined with Siegler Creek outflows, deliver less than 4,700 cfs even when Clear Lake is at 11 feet Rumsey.
To put these numbers into perspective, 2,700 cfs will fill a typical in-ground, backyard swimming pool in 1 second. These flows show that the Cache Creek dam can release almost 4.5 times as much water as can reach it even during severe flood events on Clear Lake.
More information on the history and flow testing to demonstrate the above scenario of the Cache Creek dam and flow from Clear Lake, you should visit the Lake County Water Resources Cache Creek Dam Flows webpage.
Flooding and other Emergency Information
It’s important to monitor the lake stage so you can be prepared for any flooding events due to high water in the Lake. First, be aware of current conditions, bookmark the lake gauges on your browser, on your computers and mobile phones. Check them often as storm events occur and after, as stream flow continues to increase lake water levels even after precipitation has stopped.
In the meantime, the best course of action to prevent loss or damage to property due to flood, is to be prepared. The County of Lake Office of Emergency Services released a series of “Flood Prep” best practice tips for being prepared against disaster during flood season.
Road closures, due to flooded conditions, can be located on Zone Haven https://aware.zonehaven.com/search along with information for when they are reopened and safe for travel.
Additionally, The Lake County Department of Public Works - California facebook page usually posts the most recent list of locations to purchase sandbags and sand bag assembly materials.
For more information about shelters, or emergency services, contact the Lake County Office of Emergency Services or call them at 707-263-3450.
Sincerely,
Lady of the Lake
Angela De Palma-Dow is a limnologist (limnology = study of fresh inland waters) who lives and works in Lake County. Born in Northern California, she has a Master of Science from Michigan State University. She is a Certified Lake Manager from the North American Lake Management Society, or NALMS, and she is the current president/chair of the California chapter of the Society for Freshwater Science. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..