Oakland Geology

I think it’s safe to say that everyone in town is thrilled with the improvements to Lake Merritt. After seeing the final configuration today, I’m feeling a deep satisfaction.

The new roadway and pedestrian bridge over the lake’s outlet serves vehicular traffic as well as ever, but residents and, most of all, the lake and the land get their due. The lake—actually it’s a tidal marsh—is noticeably healthier now that the tidal flow from the bay is no longer regulated with a dam. The range of the tide is greater now and the water is flushed more thoroughly. We have figured out how to trust nature with our lake. We’ll see in the future how the new lake deals with drought and flood, but I think that the city will not overreact to the occasional inundation as it might have in the past.

The new lake is a triumph for the planners of Measure DD, where the money came from. The funds are still being spent on this and many other projects around Oakland, but I’m starting to wonder what the DD crew could do for an encore. Nature holds us in its hand with the Hayward fault, too. Can we envision better ways to live with it?

This entry was posted on 12 July 2013 at 7:38 pm and is filed under Hayward fault, Oakland streams and water, Other topics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.