Project365: Drought (8/24/15 - 8/30/15)

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This week's series, "Drought," focuses on the extended drought we've been experiencing in California. I live near Lake Oroville, and seeing the water level down 225ft (from it's 900ft max) is shocking! That leaves it at only 31% of it's full capacity: a loss of 2,547,652 acre-feet (enough to cover 2.5 million acres in 1 foot of water). The reservoir currently has 1.1 million acre-feet left.

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Day 796 [8-24-15] "Disappearing Blue" - All the brown areas should be under water. Lake Oroville, CA is 225 feet (or 69%) below full capacity.

Day 797 [8-25-15] "Squeeze" - The Bidwell Marina is losing space for boats. Lake Oroville, CA is 225 feet (or 69%) below full capacity.

Day 798 [8-26-15] "Deepest Moat" - The Bidwell Marina is now dwarfed by the exposed lakebed. Lake Oroville, CA is 225 feet (or 69%) below full capacity.

Day 799 [8-27-15] "Final Stretch" - The Oroville Dam boat launch ramp no longer reaches the water. Where we stand would be under 200ft of water, when full. The fill line can be seen on the hills over a mile away, where the trees end at brown lakebed. Lake Oroville, CA is 225 feet (or 69%) below full capacity.

Day 800 [8-28-15] "Revegetate" - The shoreline submersion (winter - early summer) typically prevents most plants from growing, but the past few years of drought has left shoreline exposed, allowing some small plants to come back. Lake Oroville, CA is 225 feet (or 69%) below full capacity.

Day 801 [8-29-15] "Taller Each Day" - When built in 1965, the Bidwell Bar Bridge stood 627ft above the river below, making it one of the highest suspension bridges in the world at that time. When full, the water sits just below the top of the concrete pillars, 20ft below the bridge. Lake Oroville, CA is currently 225 feet (or 69%) below full capacity.

Day 802 [8-30-15] "Rising Mountains" - They appear to grow taller as the drought reveals more shore along Middle Fork Canyon of the Feather River. Lake Oroville, CA is currently 225 feet (or 69%) below full capacity.