Lexington Resevoir Project to Expose Buried Towns

QUOTE

The towns of Lexington and Alma once provided a colorful slice of Silicon Valley's past. But 55 years ago they were lost forever, submerged under 130 feet of water when Lexington Reservoir was built in the hills south of Los Gatos. Now the two forgotten communities will have their day in the sun again as construction crews embark next week on a dam-safety project that will drain 98 percent of the reservoir's water by summer next year.

SJ Merc: Tunnel project revisits ghost towns sunken in Lexington Reservoir (11/3/07)
One of my favorite pieces of local trivia is the question, "What's underneath Lexington Resevoir?" The answer, if you didn't know, is the defunct town of Lexington (and Alma). During the worst of the drought in the early 90's, the tallest pieces of buildings that still remain, started poking their tips over the surface of the receeding water.

That'll happen again soon, but this time it's because the resevoir will be drained for a construction project to upgrade the dam. By June of 2008, they expect the water levels in Lexington Resevoir to dip to 8% and possibly as low as 2%, which means we'll see some of what remains of the ghost towns buried in the water.