With the passing of Labor Day, activity on Lake Elsinore is down and so is the lake.

For the first time since winter 2005, the lake's elevation has fallen below 1,240 feet, according to data from the city.

That is the elevation determined by a study several years ago to be the minimum level at which the lake best functions.

"The result of that analysis was that maintaining the lake elevation at 1,240 feet would provide the best combination for recreation, habitat and flood (control)," city spokesman Mark Dennis said. "All of those factors go back to lake management ---- 1,240 is magic for that reason."

As of Oct. 19, the lake stood at 1,239.68 feet.

The biggest problem caused by dropping even a few inches below the magic number is not the lake's health.

Officials representing the lake's management agencies ---- the city along with the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and the Lake Elsinore & San Jacinto Watershed Authority ---- say the lake is in good shape, as evidenced by a thriving fishery.

The dip in water level, however, meant that the city had to shut down the Seaport Boat Launch on the east side at the south end of downtown Lake Elsinore; when the level drops below 1,240 feet, the ramp is too steep for boats with motorized propellers to launch there.

"We don't want people to have damage to their props or their boats in trying to launch there," Dennis said.

Meanwhile, the city is directing boat owners to the privately owned Elsinore West Marina at the northwest corner of the lake, and there are other launches available on the west side.

In addition to the boat launch, Elsinore West offers a recreational vehicle and tent campground, and fishing beach.

Manager Kevin Yardley said in a recent interview that business drops sharply after Labor Day, but the boat launch aspect of the enterprise has benefited from closure of the city's ramp.

Elsinore West's ramp is larger, longer and less steep than the city's.

"I probably gained about 30 more boats than I normally would have over Saturday and Sunday," Yardley said, referring to the previous weekend. "Obviously, less competition helps me. This is the first time it's happened in quite some time."

Yardley isn't complaining about the diminishing lake level, either.

"Every day, I'm gaining more property," he said, pointing to a sandy peninsula that protrudes from the shoreline and is a popular spot for fishing.

In past years after heavy rains lifted the water level from 10 to 12 feet higher, much of that beach disappeared, he said.

"When the water was (near the top of the ramp), it's gone," he said. "But I don't know if we'll see that again unless we have a really good winter soon. I'd like to see it."

He as well as the lake's caretakers have their fingers crossed that the El Nino condition predicted by weather forecasters for this winter will deliver a typically stormy season.

National Weather Service forecaster Robert Balfour said that the ocean temperatures indicate such a condition will occur, meaning the jet stream would hover across Southern California and most likely deliver plenty of rain.

Though the rains have yet to arrive, Yardley doesn't expect the gradually declining water level to be a problem.

"I still have a long way to go before it's an issue to me," he said. "My ramp's in good shape."

The improvements in the lake's health because of a variety of management efforts also has favored his business.

"The fishing's been pretty good," he said. "They're still catching bass, crappie and catfish. The quality of the water is great."

To curtail water loss, the Elsinore Valley district pumps reclaimed water and well water into the lake, but it doesn't have enough available to offset the full loss due to evaporation.

The 3,000-acre lake, Southern California's largest natural freshwater body, loses about 4 1/2 feet per year.

The district has the capability of replacing only about 3 feet of that, said Phil Williams, the president of the district's board of directors.

A lifetime Lake Elsinore resident, Williams is well aware of the lake's history of going dry for years at a time, such as in the 1950s.

It's a phenomenon that the lake's managers are trying to prevent from happening again.

At its deepest, the lake is about 25 feet.

"Despite our best efforts, we've always known we were going to require the help of Mother Nature to keep the level of the lake at about 1,240," he said. "With this drought we're in, we think we've done a remarkable job of keeping the lake level where it's been. But as we all know, in the end, Mother Nature wins."

He added, "The lake is healthy, the systems are functioning, but once in a while, Mother Nature will give you a kick in the side and say, 'I'm still here.'"

That's what happened this summer. After officials touted the lake as thoroughly revived and an angler's paradise, extreme heat led to a fish die-offs, primarily killing millions of threadfin shad.

Lake observers say that may have been a blessing in the long run, because that species of minnow has vastly overpopulated the lake.

The lake has been stocked with thousands of hybrid striped bass because they feed on the shad.

But getting the lake level back up to 1,240 feet and higher is not a task for mere mortals.

"In the water industry, especially with the three-year drought, we're always hoping for rain," Williams said. "That saves everything."

Call staff writer Michael J. Williams at 951-676-4315, ext. 2635.