Documentary San Joaquin Water Shortage

by Debby Pueschel

Title

Documentary San Joaquin Water Shortage

Artist

Debby Pueschel

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Years ago, Lake Kaweah was formed by the construction of Terminus Dam on the Kaweah River in 1962 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide flood damage reduction and water conservation. There was a great need to add another dam to the Sierra Mountains to keep the water for agriculture of the San Joaquin Valley - literally, the breadbasket of the Uniter States.
This photo shows the way the land looked BEFORE the dam was built and waters flowed and filled the land, making the beautiful lake. What is seen now, USED to be cover by water as far as the eye could see…
To the right, you can clearly see a detteriorated road, now a dirt road, was the road that was the direct route to Sequoia National Park. Trees and rocks dot the scenery. Barely visible on the top quarter of the photo, is the new highway 198 which is the road to Sequoias. The green area, filled with some sort of marsh grass is the Kaweah river.
All of this is rarely seen as it is always under water…yet drought has brought all of this back to life for those of us who watched the dam built. It is with great sadness, now, that we do see the old, for it signals that our water is quickly being used by entities other than what the original use was intended, AND that weather changes are occurring that is causing less rainfall to occur in the Sierra Nevada Range.

Featured in these amazing groups:

*WATER FORMS 10-24-22

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October 24th, 2022

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