Cachuma Lake: ‘It’s just empty’

White earth attests to the lower water level in Johnson Bay at Cachuma Lake.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Jeff Bozarth, supervising ranger at Cachuma Lake Recreation Area, stands in a dry area of the lake that had been filled with water just last March.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Bozarth patrols Cachuma Lake, the source of drinking water for 200,000 people on the southern coast of Santa Barbara County.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The docks at Cachuma Lake marina are hundreds of feet from the high-water shoreline. As the lake continues to recede, employees move the dock farther from shore.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The docks and boat launch ramps are high and dry at Cachuma Lake marina.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Water marks on the concrete and dry ground are exposed near the spillway at Bradbury Dam. The dam was finished in 1953, built to rein in the water of the Santa Ynez River, forming a reservoir -- Cachuma Lake -- for a booming stretch of California.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Barren shoreline is exposed in Cachuma Bay. Cachuma Lake, which is at 39.7% of capacity, has been in trouble before. In 1990 and 1991, water levels were even lower. But then the rains came.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The intake structure on Cachuma Lake is exposed as the lake level continues to drop.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Plywood is used as a bridge over soggy ground as the docks at Cachuma Lake marina move farther from shore. It is difficult to overstate the impact of the drought on Cachuma. Chunks of the past are strewn about the former lake bed as the water recedes.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A boater on Cachuma Lake. “It’s still a beautiful place. I love it. I’m so glad I work here,” said Jeff Bozarth, the ranger. “But this is sad. It’s just sad.”  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)