Diamond Valley Lake, the giant regional reservoir in Riverside County, has been called the "jewel" of Southern California when it comes to pleasure boating and bass fishing.
But the jewel has been tarnished by the water woes gripping Southern California.
The water level in the 4,500-acre lake near Hemet is down by nearly 40%, and on Monday the lake's owner, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, will close the boat ramp.
Anglers have watched for months as the water level has declined, leaving a bathtub-style ring around the 20 miles of shoreline.
"It's just gotten worse and worse every day," bass fisherman Clint Sumner, 41, of Escondido said as he eased his 21-foot Ranger into the water this week.
Opened in 2003 at a cost of $2 billion, Diamond Valley was meant to be the major drinking-water storage facility for thirsty Southern California, as well as an insurance policy against a traumatic cutoff of water. It's the largest reservoir in Southern California.
Now it's a sign of the twin problems hitting the region: For two years, drought and cutbacks have kept the MWD from diverting any Colorado River water for storage at Diamond Valley; and a judge's decision designed to save the Delta smelt led to a reduction of water delivered from Northern California.
In June 2006, Diamond Valley Lake was full, with 810,000 acre-feet of water. This week, the figure was at 485,236 and dropping. Once, the deepest spot measured 280 feet, now it's at 200.
As supply has decreased, water from Diamond Valley has been sent by the MWD to its customers to supplement their own declining allocations. "We'd have been rationing three years ago if we didn't have Diamond Valley," said MWD General Manager Jeff Kightlinger.
But the end may be in sight, hastening the day of rationing throughout Southern California. Estimating when Diamond Valley will no longer be able to ship water to local agencies is a mixed issue of hydrology and politics.
Drawing the reservoir down too far could leave the region in dire straits -- much like a person who stops paying his homeowner's insurance to save money just days before his house is hit by fire.
Diamond Valley was designed as an emergency source of water in the event of an earthquake or other disaster that could cut flows from the Colorado River and Northern California.
Reservoirs throughout the state are in similar predicaments as storage levels drop. Farms, cities and suburbs are all being hit.
