Lake level

The Lake Chapala Society is planning on installing docks on its entrance to the South part of the property so you'll be able to sail or motor or kayak right up to the gate.

A solution to the scarcity of parking spots nearby.

SunFan

Here's a graph of yearly rain levels http://www.ajijicweather.com/index.htm

Well last December was the high mark. So if it is 5 feet higher where do you see it in relation to where it was when you were there?

I think there was only about 3 feet from the water level in December and the top of the wall. If the lake rises 5 feet we will be in trouble:/ I guess it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Some friends on the south side of the lake near Tuxcueca had some serious flooding including their pump house for their well in December. I cannot imagine what Petetan would look like with 5 more feet of water over what they had this last December!

You have to remember as the lake rises, the area it covers expands substantially, so the  rainfall towards the end of the season does not make it rise as quickly as it does at the beginning. The increased flow from the Rio Lerma will depend on rainfall upstream and how quickly all the dams fill to capacity.
Several factors to consider before anyone should get too panicky.
Plenty of time to evacuate as this is not a monsoon, snow melt, or lowland flooding area. Washouts in arroyos and water spout flooding is the about the worse that can happen and they are not common.

If we get the same rise as last year there will be f!ooding. If I was on the lakefront or needed one of those lakefront roads to access my property I would be thinking about contingency plans or talking with the fellow we identified earlier in this thread. The federally mandated July opening of the up river dams is the first major rise.

It will take a lot more rain to get the same rise as last year because it will be spread over a larger area, as the the lake is higher now than it was a year ago. It (the lake) is not straight up and down sides like filling a bucket.

I understand your theory but the higher it rises the less of a slope there is so it spreads out further once it breaches the wall or shore. I'm thinking the opposite. I hope your theory is correct. There seems to be way less draw from the lake as it hasn't fallen nearly as much as the previous years.

Look at the chart that Cincy made. It put the predicted high at 98.38 which is very near that 1976 high.

https://www.insidelakeside.com/t21324-lake-chapala-extrapolated-lake-levels-for-2019-rainy-season

So far we are exactly where Cincy predicted we would be for May.

Even now, there's no parking lot behind Maria Isobel. This time last year; lots of parking.

Get a diesel 4x4 with a "snorkel" attachment. Three feet of water, six inches of mud, no problem at all. Diesels do not have spark plugs or ignition wires to get wet and fail. At least it is not salt water.

glad we live in Chapala Haciendas 2, do not think it will get up here, but so sorry for all who on the lake front

I have a lake front house on the south side of the lake.  Normally there is 90 meters from the short wall of my property to the lake.  Last December the distance was 10 meters.  Now is about 30 meters.  I went and bought a 12' Aluminum Jon boat.
I am HOPING for next year, I will be lunching the boat from my patio (LOL)

My federal zone has become a magnet for fishermen catching pretty large size fish :)

Yep we have fished the lirio and weed patches over there. Nice fat bass. There are some 12lbers out there!!

Every Sunday nice looking fishing boats show up in front of my place and fish for about 1/2 hour or so. You may have been there?! My house has a BLUE tiled dome in the front (not facing the lake) but visible from the lake.

I'll look for it next time. Yes, we usually book a guide that has a fancy bass boat.

Alfredo G wrote:I have a lake front house on the south side of the lake.  Normally there is 90 meters from the short wall of my property to the lake.  Last December the distance was 10 meters.  Now is about 30 meters.

My federal zone has become a magnet for fishermen catching pretty large size fish :)

That raises an interesting question. Where is the Federal Zone measured from? It must be measured from some predetermined lake level otherwise the easement would vary year to year.

Anyone have the answer?

SunFan

Yep, it´s based on the official high level, lake full, measurement of 97.3, or whatever it is.
That isn´t always observed by lake front property owners around the lake and not very well enforced unless someone files a complaint and it draws attention.  Even then, it depends on who is doing the violating.

slainte39 wrote:Yep, it´s based on the official high level, lake full, measurement of 97.3, or whatever it is.
That isn´t always observed by lake front property owners around the lake and not very well enforced unless someone files a complaint and it draws attention.  Even then, it depends on who is doing the violating.

97.8% is the correct number as I had survey engineers and ConAgua/Con Corupto at my property at one time. The law (assuming it is FOLLOWED, often NOT) is that any fixed structure within 10 meters of the 97.8% lake level is unacceptable. Well, by luck or otherwise my perimeter is exactly 10 meters away from the dreaded 97.8 number.

The federal zone is the ground in front of your house all the way to the beginning of the lake. At the present time my federal zone "ground" NOT WATER is 30 Meters. 3 years ago was 100 meters. The moment you reach the water, your federal zone ends.

Sorry to the original poster for drifting from the subject here. The post is about lake levels not FZ.