Folsom Residents Asked To Conserve Water To Combat Ravages Of Drought On Folsom Lake

click to expand

FOLSOM (CBS13) - The Folsom city council is asking its residents to save water.

Folsom Lake is the main water source for the city, and it's reaching historically low levels. As a result, the city is asking its residents to cut their usage by 10 percent to try to preserve what's left.

The city council hopes to minimize the impact of water usage during the fall and winter months.

Normally bustling boat docks at Folsom Lake are resting on dry land, their buoys warning phantom boats to slow down.

Swipe through photos of the lake below

Empty boat slips sit on a dry lake bed at Folsom Lake Marina as the lake experiences lower water levels during the California drought emergency on May 27, 2021 in El Dorado Hills, California. - On May 10, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of drought emergency in 41 counties, including El Dorado County where Folsom Lake is located. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Boats sit in a parking lot in storage at Folsom Lake Marina as the lake experiences lower water levels during the California drought emergency on May 27, 2021 in El Dorado Hills, California. - On May 10, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of drought emergency in 41 counties, including El Dorado County where Folsom Lake is located. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

This aerial image shows boats stored in a parking lot (R) after the Folsom Lake Marina closed due to dry lake bed conditions during the California drought emergency on May 27, 2021 in El Dorado Hills, California. - On May 10, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of drought emergency in 41 counties, including El Dorado County where Folsom Lake is located. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - Empty boat slips sit on a dry lake bed at Folsom Lake Marina as the lake experiences lower water levels during the California drought emergency on May 27, 2021 in El Dorado Hills, California. - On May 10, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of drought emergency in 41 counties, including El Dorado County where Folsom Lake is located. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

This aerial image shows empty boat slips sitting on a dry lake bed at Folsom Lake Marina as the lake experiences lower water levels during the California drought emergency on May 27, 2021 in El Dorado Hills, California. - On May 10, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of drought emergency in 41 counties, including El Dorado County where Folsom Lake is located. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

This aerial image shows a bird taking flight as empty boat slips sit on a dry lake bed at Folsom Lake Marina as the lake experiences lower water levels during the California drought emergency on May 27, 2021 in El Dorado Hills, California. - On May 10, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of drought emergency in 41 counties, including El Dorado County where Folsom Lake is located. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Jackrabbits on a dried lake bed at Folsom Lake Marina during a drought in El Dorado Hills, California, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2021. A protracted lack of precipitation has landed swaths of the Bay Area in the worst drought category, according measurements released Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Boats in a parking lot above boat slips on a dried lake bed at Folsom Lake Marina during a drought in El Dorado Hills, California, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2021. A protracted lack of precipitation has landed swaths of the Bay Area in the worst drought category, according measurements released Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Life guard stands at Folsom Lake during a drought in Granite Bay, California, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2021. A protracted lack of precipitation has landed swaths of the Bay Area in the worst drought category, according measurements released Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

People in an inflatable kayak paddle in front of Folsom Dam on Folsom Lake in Folsom, California, U.S., on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Much of the U.S. West is facing the driest spring in seven years, setting up a climate disaster that could strangle agriculture, fuel deadly wildfires and even hurt power production. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

An "Area Closed" sign at the entrance of the boat ramp at Folsom Lake in Folsom, California, U.S., on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Much of the U.S. West is facing the driest spring in seven years, setting up a climate disaster that could strangle agriculture, fuel deadly wildfires and even hurt power production. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

While droughts are common in California, this year's is much hotter and drier than others, evaporating water more quickly from the reservoirs and the sparse Sierra Nevada snowpack that feeds them.

The state's more than 1,500 reservoirs are 50% lower than they should be this time of year, according to Jay Lund, co-director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California-Davis.

Droughts are a part of life in California, where a Mediterranean-style climate means the summers are always dry and the winters are not always wet. The state's reservoirs act as a savings account, storing water in the wet years to help the state survive during the dry ones.

Folsom News
Folsom Lake