Low Shasta Lake

[Ron61]

Warren,

They had a show on the history channel the other night about the Colorado River. With both Arizona and Nevada getting low on water, they may shut off what comes to Los Angles if it gets to short over there. They also said that the Phoenix Airport has sank 10' into the ground as they have pumped so much of the ground water out that it is starting to cave in where the water was and they just keep building and putting more and more people and weight there and using more water. In fact the final analysis was that the next world war could very well be over water and food. If you get a chance to see the show Mega Disasters that showed what they expect to happen if this drought doesn't break, watch it. Very interesting and somewhat frightening too.

Ron

[Silverback51]

Some are complaining about Global Warming and the oceans rising.

Okay, about 90% of the US coastline could support solar powered desalinators for producing water. Do we do that? No. We sit here and complain if it doesn't rain or snow enough to fill up the lakes or under ground resevoirs.

By using desalinators we could stop the rising oceans and put the Global Warming to work to produce water. Probably never happen.

[wtm442]

Ron
I saw that Mega Disasters show you mentioned. Great series, as long as you do not take the info too seriously! Of course all of the disasters could happen, but at least we on the right coast get to see most of the smaller disasters occur out on the left coast.

[Ron61]

Silverback,

The people here in Northern California would be very happy to have you tell us how to get the state to build the plants. We have even tried to get it on a ballot which of course was denied because the big money and population are in Southern Calif. Yes, we complain, but some of us have actually tried to talk to out senators and state people about doing something only to be told it is to expensive and we have plenty of everything. We even tried one year to get a ballot to split this state in two parts with Northern California being everything this side of Sacramento and the Bay Area. That sure went over like a Fart in a Space suit.

Ron

[Jay Little]

What was that old tower for Ron? I feel like I need a tetanus shot just looking at it.

[Ron61]

Jay,

The old tail tower used to be higher than the dam and it was used for pouring the concrete. They had huge cranes that traveled on rails that were way back on the mountain with cables that ran to the tower. They would hook the buckets to the cables and the cranes would then run them out to which ever pour they were doing and lower them down to be busted. They used to use them on several of the larger dams, and then once the dam is finished they just cut them off and leave the steel laying at the bottom. It is hard to tell from the picture, but that tower was once well over 200' high. That is the last of the cross braces that was in it, so you know the lake is way down as this is the first time that one has seen light since the dam was finished in 1947 I believe it was. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but the top of the remaining legs are about 30 to 35' above the water.

Ron

[Mike Bartlett]

Ron,

It has been raining down here, Pleasanton, most of the day. Not sure how much this storm has in it but.....Hey it's a start, right?

Mike