Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Peter Pelsma, a visitor to Vasona Lake County Park, looks at the lake, which has been lowered by seven feet.

Water district lowers lake level

By Shari Kaplan

With all the rain the area has had this year, the water level at Vasona Lake County Park looks peculiarly low. That's because the Santa Clara Valley Water District, in compliance with a request by the California Division of Dam Safety, inspected the dam and found it in need of repair.

After the breakage of Folsom Dam's radial-arm gate last summer, the structural integrity of all dams of similar design came under question. While Vasona Lake is in no imminent danger of failing, the water district did find some steel corrosion on two of the gates. To relieve pressure on the dam structure, the lake's water level has been lowered by seven feet.

Currently at Vasona Lake County Park, no boats are able to launch onto the lake because the launch ramp is located in an area affected by the drawdown. According to the water district, the lowered water level will not affect fish or waterfowl.

Water district spokesman Teddy Morse says that when the replacement gates are fabricated, they will be installed by a professional contractor, but probably not until September. In order to install the gates, the lake's water level would have to be lowered even further. Morse said that by September, after the supposedly warm and dry summer months have passed, the water level will have fallen additional feet on its own.

As of last week, the water district was completing calculations to see if the Vasona water level could be raised slightly without affecting the dam. If so, water from Lexington Reservoir would be released into Los Gatos Creek, which feeds Vasona Lake.

Representatives of the water district and the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department are working together in developing the dam-repair plan.