Lake County Water Authority app provides snapshot of yesteryear

Tavares - Lake County's terrain has gone through numerous changes since the 1940s.

Thanks to a recently installed web application by the Lake County Water Authority the public can get a bird's-eye view to see the differences — even in their own backyards.

The web-map app shows a side-by-side comparison of aerial photographs taken throughout the county in 1941, 1958 and 2013. With the click of a finger, anyone can swipe between aerials to compare changes that have occurred over 72 years. A user can also zoom into any location in Lake for more detail about how it was then and how it is today. The beauty of the app is that is can be viewed from virtually any computer, smartphone or tablet — it works across all online platforms.

"The project was huge in the sense that we wanted to preserve this history and provide this information to everyone as easily as possible," said Ben Garcia, the authority's geographical information systems manager. "We did not want these photos to get damaged over time. Some were not as clear as those from today, but we tried to get the best from them."