Tahoe remains above historic low level
By Paul Nelson, KTVN-TV
The water level at Lake Tahoe has slowly dropped, after four years of below-average winters. The lake’s elevation is 1.13 feet below its natural rim of 6,223 feet above sea level.
“The Truckee River stopped flowing towards Reno about a year ago,” Madonna Dunbar, Tahoe Water Supplier Association Executive Director said. “So, we’ve had some nice rain over the last couple of days. It might have brought it up a little bit but we are waiting for a big, wet winter.”
The low lake level has changed the landscape along the shoreline, in some areas, including new plant growth like wildflowers and grasses.
An average of 3.8 feet of water evaporates from Lake Tahoe, every year. October is typically has some of the highest evaporation in comparison to the water that drains into the lake. This month has been better than most Octobers, so far. While this has been an historic drought, the water level is still 1.6 feet higher than it’s all-time low in 1992.