California Leads U.S. in Lost Lakes Due to Water Diversions
California has experienced the highest loss of large, historically significant lakes in the United States, primarily due to human water development. Lakes such as Tulare, Buena Vista, Kern, and Owens have largely disappeared as their water sources were diverted for agriculture and urban use. Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, supported steamboat traffic and fisheries until irrigation diversions in the late 19th century caused its decline. Owens Lake, drained for the Los Angeles Aqueduct starting in 1913, became the largest source of PM10 dust pollution in the U.S., necessitating over $2.5 billion in dust-control measures. While some of these lakebeds, like Tulare, have temporarily refilled during exceptionally wet years, their normal open-water conditions have been eliminated.
