World renowned for its crystal clear, azure water, Lake Tahoe
straddles the Nevada-California border. However, the lake’s
clarity has declined in the last 40 years due to accumulated
effects of development.
At 1,645 feet, Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the
United States and the 10th deepest in the world. Lake Tahoe sits
6,225 feet above sea level, and is 22 miles long and 12 miles
wide.
Approximately 40 percent of the Tahoe Basin’s rain and snow fall
directly into the lake, contributing to Lake Tahoe’s legendary
clarity. The remaining precipitation drains through granitic
soils, which are relatively sterile and create a good filtering
system.
The lake’s vitality is threatened by several factors
including invasive species (trout and bass), stormwater
runoff and increasing temperatures as a part of ongoing climate
change. Meanwhile, drought conditions have led the lake to be the
driest it has been in a century.
Lake Tahoe’s clear waters are benefiting from a record-breaking
effort to reduce pollution, according to a new report from
California and Nevada. The report by the Lahontan Regional
Water Quality Control Board found that an estimated 727,000
pounds of fine sediment; more than 5,800 pounds of nitrogen;
and nearly 2,100 pounds of phosphorus were prevented from
reaching the lake in 2024 — all annual record highs since the
program began tracking these statistics in 2016. These
pollutants can fuel algae growth and harm the lake’s clarity.
… Three to 6 million visitors a year flock to Lake Tahoe, due
in large part to the crystal-clear blue water. … But a
recently released study by UC Davis on the water’s health shows
clarity is the third murkiest since records were taken in the
1960s, with visibility ending at 62.3 feet down — a fair
distance from the best clarity level recorded of 102.4 feet.
… To protect water health and clarity, environmental
groups are turning to new tech — from sand-sifting and
surface-skimming robots to a flying water taxi with
environmental perks.
… [Sen. Adam] Schiff was here this week to host the
Tahoe Summit, an annual event where lawmakers and community
leaders gather at a lakefront venue to champion environmental
protections, bipartisan collaboration and federal investment in
Lake Tahoe. This year, calls to protect Lake Tahoe come as the
Trump administration cuts funding for climate change research
and reduces staffing at public land management agencies.
… Schiff, who sits on the Senate’s agriculture
committee, told SFGATE on Tuesday aboard the John LeConte that
he is “deeply concerned” about cuts to the Forest
Service. … [H]e told SFGATE he wants to carry on [former
Sen. Dianne] Feinstein’s legacy and continue to advocate for
Lake Tahoe.
This year’s Tahoe Summit theme is “Protecting Lake Tahoe:
Balancing Sustainable Recreation and Conservation.” Leaders
from California and Nevada, on both sides of the
aisle, joined together to reach that goal. … Even though
the Tahoe summit celebrates bipartisanship, California leaders
say they are concerned about the decisions made on the federal
level when it comes to cuts to the Lake Tahoe area.
Officials are warning the public to stay out of the water near
a popular resort on Lake Tahoe’s southern shore … after
detecting “high levels” of E. coli bacteria Friday after a
sewage leak. Water quality samples collected near the Camp
Richardson resort revealed elevated levels of Escherichia coli,
commonly known as E. coli, according to the U.S. Forest
Service’s Tahoe Basin Management Unit. Immediately after the E.
coli was detected, the resort conducted a sewer line
inspection, located a leak and began repairs, the forest
service said. … According to the Forest Service,
officials are collecting and analyzing water samples from Camp
Richardson and areas east and west of the resort and will
advise the public if they need to take additional precautions
or if it’s safe to resume normal activities.
… Beginning in 2008, boats trailered to Tahoe have been
required to undergo inspections for prolific quagga mussels,
which have caused vast damage in the Great Lakes, Lake Mead and
other places. But the discovery late last year of another
species, the golden mussel, in the
Sacramento River Delta has redoubled concern.
The golden mussels, native to Asia, are even heartier and more
prolific than their quagga cousins. The tiny creatures grow up
to 2 inches in length, and have already proved their ability to
spread. They have been detected in Quail Lake
in Los Angeles County. And inspectors at Alpine Meadows found a
single live golden mussel on the drive shaft of a boat bound
for Tahoe at the end of May. Allowed to proliferate, the
mussels will thoroughly encrust docks, boats and other hard
surfaces, requiring cleanups that easily run into millions of
dollars.
The clearness of Lake Tahoe’s deep, blue waters tells a story.
The lake’s incredible clarity, which today averages 60 to 70
feet deep, is among Lake Tahoe’s most famous features. Despite
having been on the ropes at times over the past 100 years, that
clarity endures. The most recent report on Lake Tahoe’s clarity
from the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center shows
that the visibility of the lake’s water averaged 62 feet last
year. By any standard, being able to see a 10-inch white disk
descend six stories into a body of water is amazing. But as the
report states, clarity could be better, could be worse and must
be better understood. –Written by Julie Regan, executive director of the Tahoe
Regional Planning Agency, and Jason Vasques, executive director
of the California Tahoe Conservancy.
It’s a sunny day in the middle of Lake Tahoe when Katie Senft,
Carina Seitz and Consuelo Del Rio are aboard the University of
Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe’s research vessel. The research team
is testing the quality of water in Lake Tahoe by looking at
microplastics, light and other biological parameters.
… For the research team, the real fun begins once the
sieve sifting is over. Seitz pulls out a LISST 200X, a device
that measures the size and count of particles. She carefully
lowers into the water over the side of the boat and down to a
specific depth. This allows the team to visualize how
microplastics and other particles change in size or quantity
throughout the water.
The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center today released
its “Tahoe: State of the Lake Report,” which presents data from
2024 in the context of the long-term record. … Highlights of
the report include data related to temperature, precipitation,
algae, water clarity and more. Lake Tahoe today generally
experiences higher air temperatures, more rain, less snow and
earlier snowmelt than it did 113 years ago, the report said.
Project partners are returning to Baldwin Beach this upcoming
fall to tackle the final phase of lead cable removal, pulling
out the last 75 feet of the nearly 100 year old cable system.
It’s the final leg of removal after a barge crew pulled around
eight miles of cable from Lake Tahoe’s depths in November. The
remaining length of cable runs from the sand on Baldwin Beach,
and into the land. Depending on the water level, the capped and
enclosed end can be underwater. It marks where the project’s
first phase stopped and the second phase will begin. The
project required two different permits, which necessitated the
two-part removal. The USDA Forest Service is the lead
permitting agency on this final phase at Baldwin Beach.
… According to the Forest Service’s Special Uses/Lands
Program Manager, Karen Kuentz, the fall removal allows time for
botanists to adequately survey the California endangered Tahoe
yellow cress and to minimally impact the recreating public.
This month, the California Tahoe Conservancy, in cooperation
with the California Department of General Services, will begin
demolishing the former Motel 6 on the Conservancy’s Upper
Truckee Marsh South property in South Lake Tahoe. … The
Upper Truckee Marsh South property was one of the most
consequential environmental acquisitions in years for the Lake
Tahoe Basin. In joining with partners to acquire the property
in 2024, the Conservancy gained the opportunity to remove
development from ecologically valuable floodplain along the
Upper Truckee River. … The Conservancy has preserved the
mountain meadow and wetlands that surround the
former motel site, and has begun engaging the public on future
wetland habitat restoration and enhanced recreation and access.
On average, more than 60 percent of
California’s developed water supply originates in the Sierra
Nevada and the southern spur of the Cascade Range. Our water
supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests,
which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought,
wildfires and widespread tree mortality.
This tour ventured into the Sierra to examine water issues
that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts downstream and
throughout the state.
Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply
originates high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our water
supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests,
which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought,
wildfires and widespread tree mortality.
We headed into the foothills and the mountains to examine
water issues that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts
downstream and throughout the state.
GEI (Tour Starting Point)
2868 Prospect Park Dr.
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.
Lake
Tahoe, the iconic high Sierra water body that straddles
California and Nevada, has sat for more than 10,000 years at the
heart of the Washoe tribe’s territory. In fact, the name Tahoe
came from the tribal word dá’aw, meaning lake.
The lake’s English name was the source of debate for about 100
years after it was first “discovered” in 1844 by people of
European descent when Gen. John C. Fremont’s expedition made its
way into the region. Not long after, a man who carried mail on
snowshoes from Placerville to Nevada City named it Lake Bigler in
honor of John Bigler, who served as California’s third governor.
But because Bigler was an ardent secessionist, the federal
Interior Department during the Civil War introduced the name
Tahoe in 1862. Meanwhile, California kept it as Lake Bigler and
didn’t officially recognize the name as Lake Tahoe until 1945.
Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply
originates high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our water
supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests,
which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought,
wildfires and widespread tree mortality.
This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership
with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an
excellent overview of climate change and how it is already
affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists
anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and
precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are
underway to plan and adapt to climate.
30-minute DVD that traces the history of the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation and its role in the development of the West. Includes
extensive historic footage of farming and the construction of
dams and other water projects, and discusses historic and modern
day issues.
This beautiful 24×36-inch poster, suitable for framing, displays
the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas
and Indian reservations within the Truckee River Basin, including
the Newlands Project, Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Map text
explains the issues surrounding the use of the Truckee-Carson
rivers, Lake Tahoe water quality improvement efforts, fishery
restoration and the effort to reach compromise solutions to many
of these issues.
This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, illustrates the
water resources available for Nevada cities, agriculture and the
environment. It features natural and manmade water resources
throughout the state, including the Truckee and Carson rivers,
Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake and the course of the Colorado River
that forms the state’s eastern boundary.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Nevada Water provides an
overview of the history of water development and use in Nevada.
It includes sections on Nevada’s water rights laws, the history
of the Truckee and Carson rivers, water supplies for the Las
Vegas area, groundwater, water quality, environmental issues and
today’s water supply challenges.
A new look for our most popular product! And it’s the perfect
gift for the water wonk in your life.
Our 24×36-inch California Water Map is widely known for being the
definitive poster that shows the integral role water plays in the
state. On this updated version, it is easier to see California’s
natural waterways and man-made reservoirs and aqueducts
– including federally, state and locally funded
projects – the wild and scenic rivers system, and
natural lakes. The map features beautiful photos of
California’s natural environment, rivers, water projects,
wildlife, and urban and agricultural uses and the
text focuses on key issues: water supply, water use, water
projects, the Delta, wild and scenic rivers and the Colorado
River.
Lake Tahoe is one of the world’s most beautiful yet vulnerable
lakes. Renowned for its remarkable clarity, Tahoe straddles the
Nevada-California border, stretching 22 miles long and 12 miles
wide in a granitic bowl high in the Sierra Nevada.
Tahoe sits 6,225 feet above sea level. Its deepest point is 1,645
feet, making it the second-deepest lake in the nation, after
Oregon’s Crater Lake, and the tenth deepest in the world.
Lake Tahoe is one of the Sierra Nevada’s crown jewels, renowned
for its breathtaking clarity. The high-altitude, clear blue lake
and its surrounding basin, which lie on the California-Nevada
state line, is a spectacular natural resource that provides
environmental, economic, recreational and aesthetic benefits.
