Why all the California hate? It really irritates me that people in the East can be so condemning about something about which the have so little knowledge. The lake is New Melones reservoir. The dam was built in 78. The bridge you see is the old Hwy 49 crossing. 4 years ago the lake was at that high water mark. I cross the lake weekly and this is the lowest it's been since it was built. The drought here is real and has nothing what so ever to do with regulation or government bureaucracy. There simply has been no moisture coming in off of the Pacific.