What controls the water level in Trinity Lake?
The level of the Trinity Lake works just like your checking account, it is controlled by how much water comes in and how much water is released. The inflow to Trinity Lake is based on how much rain and snow nature provides. Releases from Trinity Lake either go down the Trinity River or are diverted into the Sacramento River through the big pipes you can see coming down the mountain into upper Whiskeytown Lake. The Bureau of Reclamation controls how much water is released from Trinity Lake. This is a difficult task because they have to balance the competing needs for the water (on both the Trinity River and Sacramento River) while trying to maintain adequate lake levels. Releases from Trinity Lake are also cold and are used to meet regulatory criteria for water temperature on both the Trinity and Sacramento Rivers. These water temperature criteria benefit fish and are one of the main drivers of how much water is released in dry years. Current and forecast lake levels can be found on the
