Grocery prices for milk and other items may surge after a formerly dormant lake in California is filling up again and threatening farmland.
Some Californians are happy the heavy rains are making a dent in the drought the state has been experiencing, but the tradeoff is a negative impact on farmlands and the groceries they produce.
The inundation of water is causing the reemergence of Tulare Lake, a dormant body of water that was once considered the largest freshwater lake in the western United States. It has grown to a size that hasn’t been seen in nearly four decades.
The ensuing debacle could threaten the nation’s supply of almonds, pistachios, milk, and fruit, leading to higher grocery prices that are already hurting Americans’ pocketbooks.
“The problem this year is it’s just begun. We may have water running at or near our flood level — in all of our streams, through August or September,” said Matt Hurley, a former water manager in the region.
“This impending monster — a 50-foot-plus deep snowpack that we haven’t seen in 75 years — is sitting up there, and we just don’t know how fast it’s going to turn into water and come out of the mountains,” he added.
And there’s no natural outflow for the water, according to Randy McFarland, the public information officer for the Kings River Water Association.
“The only way it’s going to be eliminated is through evaporation or what irrigation can take place,” he explained.
Before the lake was emptied out for farmland more than a century ago, it was four times the size of Lake Tahoe during wet years, encompassing nearly 1,000 square miles.
“The flooding is affecting everyone,” said Josephine Arellano, a business owner in Corcoran. “It’s affecting businesses. It’s affecting jobs in the field. And I don’t know how long it will last.”
Here’s more about the lake threatening farmland:
Return of Tulare Lake: Farmland impacted as lake basin fillswww.youtube.com
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