chris lipse paid a visit. >> reporter: from the famous closer look at water level and it's never been this low. this beauty isn't the only thing that's stunning. the fact is i shouldn't even be able to walk here. but this year the water is lower than it's ever been in recorded history. >> in this period we don't have water from the rainfall or ice melting or snow melting. >> reporter: geologist points out that wide gap that marks how much the water has dropped. >>> so more than 3 feet. >> yes, more than. >> reporter: stretch that across these 56 square miles of lake and you get 4.6 billion gallons that have vanished. enough to cause dangerous erosion, even rock slides. >>> when the water reseecedes, mountain starts to fall. >> yes. >> reporter: water depletion is also killing off the fish. these days the local government has resorted to stocking the lake with fish from nearby farms, but it's still a struggle for local catchers, says william, head of the local fishing association. >> directly from the lake of cuomo, the fish level is around 50% less than ten years ago. we already lost