Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance
Posts related to Folsom Lake history, operation, Folsom Dam, recreation, park.
Even before Folsom Lake Dam was built and the reservoir filled, the north fork of the American River was supplying water to communities, farms and ranches in south Placer and northeast Sacramento counties. I recently found aerial photography from 1952 showing a free flowing north and south fork of the American River. Finally, I can […]
From the shoreline of Granite Bay Beach Park at Folsom Lake you can probably see where Mr. Reppert was buried in 1849 in an unmarked grave far away from home and family. The death and burial of this gold rush miner comes to us from a fellow traveler and miner who wrote about his experiences in the […]
With Folsom reservoir dropping to historically low levels in the autumn of 2013 and record low rain fall, there was no question that Northern California was in the grip of a drought. The question posed by San Juan Water District Board member Bob Walters to the assembled drought water committee at their second meeting was, […]
In its very essence, the Freeport Regional Water Project is a peripheral water conveyance system designed to have Bureau of Reclamation water purchased by EBMUD not pass through the Delta. Even though this water is being used to service East Bay communities, there is no reason that some simple modifications to the EBMUD aqueducts would allow the water to be sent south to Southern California. Perhaps the Metropolitan Water District in Southern California should fund the construction of the necessary modifications to allow the discharge of water from the EBMUD aqueducts in the event of an emergency situation where Sacramento River water can’t be conveyed through the Delta.
How much is water worth? For Starbucks, they are able to take $0.66 worth of Folsom Lake water and convert it into $11,668.80 dollars. The San Juan Water District, who treats and delivers drought depleted Folsom Lake water to residential and commercial customers, is asking homeowners to use less water and pay more for it while company’s like Starbucks generate handsome revenues from residential conservation. The current and proposed Stage 3 Water Warning rate structure continues to have residential customers pay more per unit than Starbucks and other commercial uses who use the water to create revenue and profits.
The east side of the north fork of the American River is challenging to hike because of the lack of accessibility and rugged terrain along the Folsom Lake. After I discovered the abutment for a bridge on the west side of the river, I had to get to Anderson Island on the other side. Not only was I able to find the suspension bridge cables, I found the ruins of Zantgraf mine which is fairly well preserved.
The low water levels of Folsom Lake in this drought year of 2014 offer unprecedented opportunities for hiking and biking around usually water-logged historical sites. The fully exposed North Fork Ditch offers a relatively flat trail for mountain biking from Beeks Bight up to Horseshoe Bar. At certain locations, you’ll need to park the bike […]
The peninsula was once a major thoroughfare for gold prospectors and commerce from Sacramento to the mines on the western side of the north fork of the American River. Today, the chunk of land known as the Peninsula Campground is isolated and decidedly very quiet as travel to this state park is a circuitous drive because […]
The main obstacle that virtually all boat races face is the distance between the spectators and the water craft. You just can’t get up close and personable with boat racing like you can with automobile or horse racing. I tried to position myself on the northern turn of the race course only to be told the area was off limits.
The trails around Folsom Lake that you can ride your mountain bike on are not that challenging and it is perfectly acceptable to walk your bike.
