Low Water Levels Reveal Historic Site at Lake Casitas

Water levels at our local lakes are reaching a historic low.

At Lake Casitas, the alarming low levels have revealed a historic site that has been on the bottom of the lake for decades. The foundation of the historic Santa Ana Schoolhouse is now visible at Lake Casitas as well as the surrounding roads.

The lake is now 53 feet down from spill level, and only 51.3 percent of capacity.

“The last time it was at this level was in 1991 for a brief time during that drought, and before that, it was 1969,” said Ron Merckling, with the Casitas Municipal Water District.

The Historic Santa Ana School House was built out of boulders in 1929. The building was demolished in the 1950s when the manmade dam and lake were built to bring a water supply to this area. Since then, the reminents of what once stood here have been covered by more than 50 feet of water, until these historic drought levels.

While uncovering a piece of local history is exciting, it is also a reminder of just how severe this drought is.

“It is pretty severe and it is going to get really severe, if we don’t see any water in the next 6 weeks. So we are keeping our fingers crossed that we can get a last minute save in March, but if that doesn’t happen, we are going into a fourth year of drought,” said Merckling

Lake Casitas is still open for boaters and recreational users.

Mandatory water conservation efforts are required in California, for more information click here.

For more information on the Lake Casitas Municipal Water District, click here.