How Low Can It Go?

Day 364: This bridge is a remnant of the old highway which used to pass through the town of Alder prior to the early 1940s. Like most of the towns in this neck of the woods, Alder was little more than a whistle-stop, although it did host the proverbial "one-room schoolhouse" on a little knob of land at the edge of town. Unfortunately for the residents, Tacoma Power saw potential in the nearby Nisqually River and decided to build a hydroelectric dam. The population of Alder relocated, and the little town was drowned as the Nisqually backed up behind the dam to become what is now known as Alder Lake.

In the 25+ years I have lived in the immediate area, I have seen the tips of these bridge timbers only a few times. I have never seen their bases, not until this autumn (for scale, note the family at the left end of the bridge). The lake is lower than it has even been in my memory, evidence of last year's low snow-pack and this summer's dry weather. Tacoma Power must maintain a certain requirement of cubic feet per second flow through the dam, and must also ensure that the water temperature does not exceed that necessary to maintain salmon habitat downstream. Failure to comply carries a hefty fine. The power company is caught between a rock and a hard place. They also depend on recreation dollars from the various campsites they maintain on the shore of the lake.

I never thought I'd hear Washington described as droughty, not here where lichens grow in abundance and moss curtains the forests, but we are already in a bad way which is only destined to become worse unless the rains come at flood-producing rates. Alder Lake? It's almost a desert out there. Can you spot the bridge in this photo?