Washoe County on road to reduce sediment from reaching Lake Tahoe
By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal
The tiniest particles of dirt that pose the most dire threat to Lake Tahoe’s clarity are targeted in an emerging effort by Washoe County and other local jurisdictions around the lake.
Now in the early stages of a project designed to prevent particles the width of a human hair from flowing into the lake, Washoe County officials are confident they can make a difference.
The goal is to reduce the amount of the fine sediment flowing into the lake from urbanized areas in Incline Village and Crystal Bay by 34 percent over the next 15 years.
“I believe it is realistic however it is a work in progress,” said Dan St. John, Washoe County’s director of public works.
Washoe’s efforts come in tandem with others under way in places like the city of South Lake Tahoe and Placer County to reduce the “total daily maximum load” of tiny particles carried into the lake by runoff.
A decade of research indicates these particles, combined with algae growth, play the largest role in clouding Tahoe’s famously blue waters. Historically, one could see more than 100 feet into Tahoe’s depths from the surface. Now, one can see only about 70 feet down.
If experts are successful with their 15-year goal, clarity could be enhanced by about 10 feet. Longer-term goals are to reduce fine particle pollution by 71 percent over 65 years, restoring historical clarity.