Water levels in Folsom Lake and the American River this fall will drop to levels not seen in five years as California verges on another extended drought period.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates Folsom Dam, estimates the lake will fall to a storage level of 241,000 acre-feet by December. That is about one-fourth of total capacity.

The lake has not reached such lows since December 2008, the last extended drought period, when it fell to as low as 199,000 acre-feet.

Already, boat owners at Folsom Lake Marina face an Aug. 3 deadline to vacate their berths. The floating docks will be resting on the lake bed by then, when the storage level reaches 412,000 acre-feet, said the marina’s manager, Ken Christensen.

It won’t be long after that, he added, that a lakewide 5 mph speed limit will be imposed for safety. Though not unprecedented, these early restrictions on the lake are a convincing sign that dry times are at hand.

In an average water year, boats don’t have to be hauled out of slips at the marina until Oct. 1.

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