By: Rich Rodriguez
Shaver Lake keeps getting lower by the day but it's all by design. Southern California Edison let the water gush out of Shaver Lake Friday. The main reason is to get to work on the lower part of the dam.
Shaver is so low the lake's two marina's had to float to deeper water. Sean Donaldson is the chef at the Point Restaurant which used to be just a stone's throw from the lake. "It's more of a pond, huh huh. It's more of a pond right now but still people come out here just to sit and view the lake," Donaldson said.
On Monday Southern California Edison pulled the plug on the lake. The plan is to lower the water level by 43 feet so workers can continue their maintenance project. The mission is to line the inner surface of the dam with a polyvinyl liner. Bill DeVane is a spokesman for Southern California Edison. "To protect the dam against erosion and leakage. Prepare it for decades more service."
Scooter Lyon runs the General Store and rents out cabins. To use her words, who's gonna come up here when the lake is low? "I really sit there and it's all about business. I know that business is gonna get slow. I wonder what it's gonna do to our town. People who live here it's all about side jobs," Lyon said.
Scooter is also an avid fisherman. She says the fish aren't biting because they're hanging out in deeper water. The water is gonna get a lot lower at Shaver Lake. In the fall of 2011 it will be down to streambed levels. The whole project should be finished by the summer of 2012.
