Big Bear Lake, located in the San Bernardino Mountains, was created by the construction of the Bear Valley Dam in 1884. The Lake has a surface area of approximately 3,000 acres, a storage capacity of 73,320 acre-ft. and an average depth of 24 feet. The lake reaches its deepest point of 72 feet at the dam. The Big Bear Lake drainage basin encompasses 37 square miles and includes more than 10 streams. A TMDL for Total Phosphorus was adopted for dry hydrological conditions at Big Bear Lake on April 21, 2006. It was then approved by The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on August 21, 2007 followed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) on September 25, 2007. More information including the Implementation Plan can be found in Chapter 6 of the Santa Ana Water Board Basin Plan.
For more information, please contact Pamela Ybarra at (951) 782-4990.
(Page last updated 10/12/21)
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