Acre Feet Of Water In Lake Tahoe

So on average almost three fourths of the water impounded by the tahoe city dam evaporates into the thin air of the high sierra.

Acre feet of water in lake tahoe. It is the largest alpine lake in north america holding 122 160 280 acre feet of water when full. An average california household uses between one half and one acre foot of water per year for indoor and outdoor use. That means 182 billion gallons of water simply vaporized from the lake in 2014 according to schladow s math. South lake tahoe legendary lake tahoe straddling the state line between california and nevada at an elevation of 6 225 feet is a lake of superlatives and california state gamefish records.

But what is an acre foot. Lake tahoe inflow streams contribute 310 000 acre feet 0 38 km 3 of the 530 000 acre feet 0 65 km 3 of water that flows through lake tahoe every year. At its deepest point the lake is 1 685 feet deep making the eighth deepest lake in the world. That translates to 558 536 7 acre feet or enough to fill hawthorne s walker lake which has a capacity of a million acre feet in two years.

In the water world water is commonly measured in acre feet. One acre foot equals about 326 000 gallons or enough water to cover an acre of land about the size of a football field one foot deep. The lake level is controlled by lake tahoe dam built in 1913 at the lake s only outlet the truckee river at tahoe city. On average according to figures from the watermaster s office some 500 000 acre feet of water run into the lake from the multitude of streams in the lake tahoe watershed and from precipitation that falls directly on the lake s surface.

Its deepest points are in crystal bay at 1 637 ft 499 m and off rubicon point 1 645 ft 501 m. If 360 000 acre feet evaporate that only leaves some 140 000 acre feet to flow down to reno and beyond. Lake tahoe is the second deepest lake in the united states. The 18 foot 5 5 m high dam can increase the lake s capacity by 744 600 acre ft 918 500 000 m 3.

The list below groups rivers and creeks that flow into the lake by their locations on the north east south and west shores in a clockwise order.