News from Lake Lahontan

I live in the Northern Nevada Desert on land that about 12,000 yrs ago was "Ancient Lake Lahontan". Gradually it dried up and left the Carson River, which the pioneers were very happy to run across after crossing the "Forty-mile desert". The settlers, particularly a Mr. Newlands, decided to create a farming oasis, hence the name of my town, "Fallon, NV-The Oasis of Nevada".

Lake Lahontan in recent times has been a recreation spot for travelers from all over the U.S., birdwatchers and water enthusiasts alike. Water is precious in the desert and we depend on the aquifers that have existed since the glacial age and the underground remains of the ancient lake. These aquifers are kept full through the irrigation of the farming community and the runoff from the mountains as we store the precious commodity most simply call water but folks around here call "life". As desert dwellers we appreciate the fact that when we turn on the spigot, this "life" flows through it. It is not to be wasted or taken for granted.

During the winter our storage was depleted by a break in the upper canal, and the water flow from the mountains and the nearby Truckee River had to be diverted. Lake Lahontan's capacity has gone from 300,000 acre ft last winter to nearly 4,000 acre ft currently. Today I turned on my faucet and no water came out. The aquifers are drying up. With the coming of winter, we hope to gain ground on our underground source of life. Will I have water again, certainly. These aquifers have held water for thousands of years. What should we do? Don’t ever forget, as you are paying $1.89 for that bottled water, or suddenly need to wash something sticky off your hands ... there are those of us who are simply happy in knowing that after a few hours our wells MIGHT regain enough that our animals can drink and so can we.