A few days ago The Oregonian published an article by Rob Davis about the drying of Lake Abert (or Abert Lake as the locals call it): Lake Abert, Oregon's only saltwater lake, is disappearing and scientists don't know why. Here is an in-depth story from Davis and more: 5 things you should know about Lake Abert, Oregon's disappearing salt lake.
As is often the case with online stories, the comments are as interesting as the story itself, and this one is no exception.
Lake Abert (small red dot on the map, south-central part of Oregon) is located in Lake County, Oregon's dry country, in the so-called 'Oregon Outback'. The lake is about 80 miles east of Klamath Falls, and is fed by one stream, the Chewaucan River. The only outflow is via evaporation (and presumably, some groundwater seepage).
The article focuses on a family business whose brine shrimp business is tanking, scientists who claim that drought is not the cause of the desiccation and are puzzled why the drying is occurring, farmers and ranchers who irrigate with water from the Chewaucan River and are concerned that their water may be taken from them to save the lake, and disinterested state officials, including a watermaster who made an ill-conceived, dismissive quote (see below).
Here's more from Davis: 5 things you should know about Lake Abert, Oregon's disappearing salt lake.
Here is an earlier (February 2011) column by a guest columnist, limnologist Doug Larson. He stated:
In 1991, the state of Oregon and the federal government authorized a private developer to impound the Chewaucan River with a crude, earth-filled dam, 23 feet high. Freshwater that should be flowing into Lake Abert to maintain optimal salinity levels is now being withdrawn from a 650-acre reservoir to irrigate marginal agricultural land. This, combined with a natural water shortage in the region, imperils the lake's fragile ecology.
Oregon's Water Resources Department could revoke the developer's water-withdrawal permit, now under review. But removing the dam entirely would have a more lasting and purposeful effect, freeing the river while saving a small business whose impact on the lake is negligible.
Interesting about the dam, which was not mentioned in the Davis stories.
I was surprised at the decisions made affecting Lake Abert in the apparent absence of data and the inability of OWRD to track irrigation withdrawals from the Chewaucan River.
So why am I interested in this story, which I Tweeted last weekend? I'd just driven through the region, spending the night in Lakeview, on Highway 395 about 30 miles south of Lake Abert and just north of Goose Lake (the large lake straddling the Oregon-California state line south of Lake Abert). Goose Lake was essentially dry when I drove past it in late June 2014. A local told me it had been dry since last summer.
I cut my hydrologic teeth in the Great Basin of Nevada, very similar to this part of Oregon. The western part of the USA is known for its pluvial (sometimes called 'glacial') lakes, which formed during the Pleistocene Epoch, when the climate was wetter than now because of the effects of the continental glaciation to the north. My former Desert Research Institute colleagues Marty Mifflin and Peg Wheat were experts on these lakes and I learned a lot from them. Here is their classic 1979 publication, Pluvial lakes and estimated pluvial climates of Nevada.
Download Mifflin_Wheat_Pluvial_Lakes_NV
During the Pleistocene, large freshwater lakes, such as Lakes Lahontan and Bonneville, dominated the region. Those lakes are long gone, leaving behind saltier, smaller remnants: the Great Salt Lake, Pyramid Lake, Walker Lake, and others, as well as playas (dry lakebeds). It should be noted that the latter two lakes' salinity increases and volume losses have been exacerbated by diversions.
Lake Abert was one of those pluvial lakes, as were most of the lakes in this part of Oregon, and, along with Summer Lake, was part of pluvial Lake Chewaucan, shown here.
What this means is that Lake Abert was formed during wetter times, and in the present time, occupies a much smaller volume and area and a higher salinity. So it has an 'equlibrium' size and salinity (adjusted to current climatic conditions), although I don't know what those are. No one does, and that's part of the problem here.
I am surprised that none of this - pluvial lakes - has been mentioned in any of the aforementioned newspaper articles. It's pretty well known and is relevant. I am not even a paleolimnologist or paleoclimatologist, like my former UNM colleague Roger Y. Anderson, who examined dry lakes in the USA Southwest to ascertain lake histories and climate changes.
I suspect the dam alluded to in Larson's article is having an effect on the lake volume. How could it not? Cut down the flow, the lake will shrink. But is it causing all the shrinkage? Hard to say. Again - what is the 'equilibrium' size of the lake? That has not been determined. Davis' article mentioned a proposal submitted by Joe Eilers, a Bend hydrologist, to OWEB that sought to determine the water balance of the lake. It was not funded and that does not surprise me.
My Ten Cents: I suggest beefing up the aforementioned proposal (which I have not seen) and combining it with a paleolimnological and paleoclimatic study encompassing the current Lake Abert basin or even extending it to the entire basin of Lake Chewaucan. A climate focus is critical as it would draw interest from funding agencies. I doubt the state of Oregon would fund it (I agree that politics is at play here) and the researchers would likely have to go to the NSF or some other science agency. The key is to make the study more 'researchy'. Involving some undergraduate/graduate students and an errant academic or two would be a good idea.
Check out the Mifflin and Wheat publication. Might provide some guidance.
Is it worth the money to save Lake Abert? Many would say no - the lake is drying up anyway so why spend money and possibly have to give up good irrigation water? I say 'yes' - it will enhance our knowledge of these relict lakes in Oregon and perhaps unlock some climatic and other mysteries.
While we're at it, we might ponder and answer the question, 'Do lakes have water rights?'
More reserach is indicated. What do you expect from an academic?
“If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.” ― Unknown
"If at first you don't succeed, transform your data set." - Unknown
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