Lake Don Pedro and the Tuolumne River & San Joaquin River and Valley

http://foreverhouseboats.com/newsletter/May2009

Before 1923, the area now known as Lake Don Pedro was not a lake as we know it today. It was simply another area where the Tuolumne river stretched, starting in the central Sierra Nevadas and stretching nearly 150 miles down to the central valley, where it joins up with the San Joaquin river. The land was historically controlled by the Paiutes and Miwok native american tribes in the area, with the Paiutes controlling the eastern side of the river, with their territory stretching towards the Sierra Nevadas, and the Miwoks occupied the western side from Oak flat down to the San Joaquin Valley. They made use of the stretches of Oak trees that occupied the area around the river, flourishing on the banks of this large river. The river itself was also an ample food source as the river was inhabited with Chinook Salmon, Smolt, and Steelhead. That all changed in 1848 with the discovery of gold in California, as prospectors flooded the area in search of fortune. The Tuolumne river and San Joaquin river were among the many flooded with gold rushers, which was what started the development of large towns and cities near the river. The river had been relatively untouched by anthropogenic pollution at that point, and the damn that would create Lake Don Pedro had yet to be built.

http://www.donpedro-relicensing.com/background.htm

       
In 1923 the original project titled now as "The Old Don Pedro Dam" was put into effect and construction of the dam began. In 1971 reconstruction was done to the dam to keep up with safety codes as well as to repair wear and tear that time had imposed. The "New Don Pedro Dam" has been standing since. When the dam was built the Tuolumne River and surrounding are were drastically changed, with the natural river flow being cut off and the hydro-electric dam taking precedence over the importance of the surrounding forests and land animal habitat. Since then the lake has grown to span a surface are of around 13,000 acres and has submerged about 25 miles of the Tuolumne river bed.

http://www.ldpoa.com/

Currently, Lake Don Pedro is used for a myriad of purposes, it is used as an irrigation source in both the Modesto Irrigation District as well as the Turlock Irrigation District. Some of the water is even treated at a Modesto facility in order to be used as drinking water within Modesto. One huge use of the lake and surrounding area is recreation; Boats are a very, very common site on Lake Don Pedro and the  lake is a very popular spot for houseboating, where vacationers live on the lake for days to weeks at a time. Boating is a huge part of the lakes appeal to travelers as it is known as a good sit for water skiing, wake-boarding, knee-boarding, tubing, and even recreational fishing. The surrounding area is used as campsites; from day use to long term use, the sites nearest to the lake are very rarely empty. It has become a popular destination for motor home visits as well, and because of that more and more sewage plumbing, electrical wiring, and campsite construction has become necessary in the last 10 years. Fishing is also a draw to the Lake, tournaments are held nearly biweekly in April, May, June, and July, and even August, September, November, and December see at least one tournament.
          The impact that this use of both the lake itself and the river which created it has had an effect on the amount of habitat for terrestrial animals since the dams creation in 1923, as well as a large effect on the area down river of the dam where there have been massive changes in both volumetric water flow and having to deal with a temperature change in the water caused by the dam using water to create hydro-electric energy. As far as water quality, along with the temperature increase there is also a fair amount of pollutants that have been introduced to both the lake and river from boating use and from the urbanization of areas closer to the river since the damming. Besides the obvious destruction of terrestrial habitat when the Lake was created, the human impact from the usage of the lake itself has been wholly negative on the native fish and aquatic life species within the River.

http://foreverhouseboats.com/newsletter/May2009

As far as the future is concerned for Lake Don Pedro there is plans for beach restoration for the shores in the recreation area of the lake, and future prospects for the ecosystem look to see more and more increases in pollutants being introduced to the lake from recreation on the lake and on the shore and surrounding campgrounds. Water from the dam is continually being used as irrigation and drinking water, and as the population of nearby towns like Turlock and Modesto keep increasing the amount of water taken from the lake each year will increase as well. With population increasing in surrounding towns and an increase in tourism and vacationing the chance of pollutants being introduced to the lake and river increase as well.
                                             Modesto Population Growth 1960-2000

Pollutants in the San Joaquin River have been over the state standard for quite a while, ebbing and rising with the season depending on the season and the amount of vacation traffic in and around the lakes and valleys of the San Joaquin area. Compared to the water quality in California there is some definite disparities between the average pollution in California and in the pollution in the Tuolumne river. To over come this increase in pollution Californians need to come together and work on introducing legislature to alter the amount of pollutants that boats can emit; boats need to have a system similar to smog checking cars where a boat has to continually year after year pass inspections, instead of only having to meet the loose EPA standards when the boat is made. On top of that many events such as 4th of July that are held at the lake involve the use of fireworks and attract many many visitors to the lake, and with this increase in visitation again comes an increase in pollutants. To balance this out there needs to be stricter regulations on visiting and camping periods throughout the year to give the ecosystem of the lake a little more recovery time in the summer season, when camping and boating are the most popular. 

Water Quality in California

Water Body Type	Total Size2	Size/Extent of Waters Assessed	Percent of Waters Assessed2 (by size)	Number of Waters Assessed4	Water Quality Conditions1 Percent Size of all Waters Assessed
					Good	Threatened and/or Suspected Impacts3	Impaired
RIVERS AND STREAMS	211,513 Miles	15,795	7.5%	783	25.7 %	58.2%	16.0%
LAKES AND RESERVOIRS	1,672,684 Acres	739,143	44.2%	303	29.1 %	53.7%	17.2%
WETLANDS	149,518 Acres	67,104	44.9%	85	22.3 %	77.7%	0.0%
GROUND WATER	82,011 Sq. Mi.	63,801	77.8%	352	61.4 %	35.9%	2.4%
ESTUARIES	104,186 Acres	78,929	75.8%	54	8.7 %	78.8%	12.5%
SALINE LAKES	436,242 Acres	432,908	99.2%	11	0.0 %	100.0%	0.0%
TIDAL WETLANDS	126,294 Acres	71,104	56.3%	8	0.0 %	99.7%	0.3%
BAYS AND HARBORS	515,286 Acres	484,984	94.1%	45	29.8 %	64.7%	5.5%
COASTAL SHORELINE	1,609 Miles	914	56.8%	114	87.1 %	6.7%	6.2%
OCEAN	317,496 Acres	317,496	-	25	99.1 %	0.9%	0.0%

Works Cited 

"Cal/EPA Strategic Vision July 2000." California Environmental Protection Agency Strategic Vision July 2000. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.calepa.ca.gov/publications/Reports/stratplans/2000/21Cent.htm>. 

"CensusScope -- Population Growth." CensusScope -- Population Growth. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.censusscope.org/us/chart_popl.html>. 

"Don Pedro's Importance on Display as Interests Stake Claims to Tuolumne Water." The Modesto Bee. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.modbee.com/2012/11/09/2449974/don-pedros-importance-on-display.html>. 

"Lake Don Pedro Owner's Association, La Grange California." Lake Don Pedro Owner's Association, La Grange California. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ldpoa.com/>. 

"San Joaquin River Restoration Program." San Joaquin River Restoration Program. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.water.ca.gov/rivers/sanjoaquin/program/>. 

"SECURE Water Basin Report Fact Sheet: Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers." SECURE Water Basin Report Fact Sheet: Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.usbr.gov/climate/SECURE/factsheets/sacramento-sanjoaquin.html>.