To the community,

The League to Save Lake Tahoe hosted a Stewards of Stormwater event in Incline Village on Aug. 7 in partnership with Tahoe Family Solutions’ Camp Explore program, IVGID, the Nevada Tahoe Conservation District, and Washoe County. Over 50 kids from Tahoe Family Solutions along with other volunteers helped place 41 metal markers on storm drains that lead to Lake Tahoe and picked up 40 pounds of litter on the streets.

This community volunteer project educates and engages the public about protecting our waterways from illegal dumping of wastes into the Lake Tahoe watershed. Marking community storm drains with “Keep Tahoe Blue – No Dumping” markers helps to keep pollutants out of Lake Tahoe’s environment. The communities around Lake Tahoe have outdated storm drain systems that discharge directly into the Lake or its tributaries. Washing automobiles and dumping household wastes into the storm drain system can have substantial impacts to water quality and public health.

Roughly 43 pipes enter directly into in Lake Tahoe, carrying untreated stormwater, sediment and other pollutants in runoff from our local communities. One of the easiest and most effective ways to be proactive about keeping Tahoe blue is to not dump anything into storm drains. The Stewards of Stormwater program is a great way to mobilize communities, and we are grateful for our collaboration with Incline Village organizations to help do this important work.

“We are very excited for the Camp Explore kids to work with the League to Save Lake Tahoe,” said Sharon Silva, director of Camp Explore. “It fits perfectly with our mission of educating kids about stewardship of the outdoors. It will also allow the kids to become experts on a component of keeping Tahoe blue and to then share that information with their families and neighbors.”

Volunteers also learned about water basins, how stormwater runoff impacts lake clarity, how to properly dispose of chemicals and the importance of no dumping.

Marilee Movius, League to Save Lake Tahoe’s community engagement manager