Water Quality

Each year, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection works in partnership with other public agencies, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations to provide students with a unique opportunity to learn about local water quality issues, water quality protection, and to participate in watershed research.

These field studies provide a unique hands-on opportunity to learn about the Carson River watershed and the natural environment.

State Route 207 Kingsbury Grade, closed since September to through traffic as part of a $15 million Nevada Department of Transportation pavement reconstruction project, is scheduled to reopen at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7. Construction work will continue on the project over the next weeks.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded $150,000 to the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center to create a new, interactive public exhibit at the Tahoe Science Center, located in Incline Village. The exhibit will merge the results of citizen science with TERC’s new, real-time monitoring network that is being installed around the lake to understand and improve the clarity and health of Lake Tahoe’s shoreline.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency announced recipients of its 2013 Best in the Basin awards Monday. Award winners in the agency’s 24th annual Best in the Basin include remodel, new construction, Best Management Practices, stream restoration and erosion control projects that stand out as examples of the best environmental planning, design and implementation.

The U.S. Forest Service will hold an open house on Thursday, September 18, 2014, to explain and answer questions about its draft analysis of a proposal from Heavenly Mountain Resort to expand year-round, non-skiing activities at the Lake Tahoe resort.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit plans to restore wetlands and remove the dam at the site of the former Incline Lake, according to a decision by Forest Supervisor Nancy Gibson issued Wednesday.

State Route 207, Kingsbury Grade in Douglas County will be closed near Daggett Summit beginning Tuesday, Sept. 2 through sometime in October as the second scheduled construction closure takes place for the Nevada Department of Transportation’s Kingsbury Grade Pavement Reconstruction Project.

Public comments are being accepted on a draft environmental impact report for Heavenly Mountain Resort’s Epic Discovery Project until Tuesday, October 21, 2014.

The U.S. Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board directed the preparation of a joint environmental document for the project, located at the Heavenly Mountain Resort in El Dorado, Alpine and Douglas counties.

Lowering a white disk off a boat and into Lake Tahoe’s blue waters was once the most widely used indicator of the lake’s clarity and health. Today, the Secchi disk is still an important tool, but 46 years after the University of California, Davis, first began continuous monitoring of Lake Tahoe, an array of new technologies and computer models are helping scientists better understand what has proven to be a complex ecosystem.

New high definition fire cameras are scanning the mountains and shoreline, while University of Nevada, Reno researchers are discovering new animal species at the bottom of Lake Tahoe and working with colleagues at the Desert Research Institute to document the dramatic decline of other bottom dwelling species and nearshore water quality.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe hosted a Stewards of Stormwater event Thursday, Aug. 7 in Incline Village in partnership with Tahoe Family Solutions’ Camp Explore program, IVGID, the Nevada Tahoe Conservation District, and Washoe County, Nevada.

More than 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.

With recent completion of roadway reconstruction work on the bottom, commercial section of the road, a Nevada Department of Transportation project to reconstruct State Route 207, also known as Kingsbury Grade, is progressing on schedule in advance of a Sept. 2 to October closure to through traffic.

Since the project’s start in May, nearly one and half miles of roadway has been reconstructed, including excavation of nearly 7,000 cubic yards of old road and placement of 10,300 tons of new asphalt.

New York Times author Novella Carpenter will be at the 3rd and Curry Street downtown Carson City Farmer’s Market on July 19 at 11 a.m. to chat about her bestselling memoir, Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer.

Carpenter and northern Nevada agriculture expert Mark O’Farrell, of Hungry Mother Organics, are set to engage in a kitchen-table visit. Under a large tent, with seats for 100, the conversation will be led by northern Nevada’s KTVN news anchor Erin Breen. The special event is aimed at raising awareness about the vital role farmers play in our lives.

Lucas McNamara, 7, was hiking around Griff Creek near Kings Beach Fire Station last week with his family when he saw a black, spiny fish, about 1-foot-long, lying dead in the creek. He ran up the creek bed, yelling, “Dad, you need to look at the big crazy fish!”

Lucas’ parents, Steve and Jen McNamara, decided to make this a teachable moment for their son, who already shows active interest in science and the environment.

“I told Lucas that this fish is not normal for Lake Tahoe and may be harmful to the other fish and animals in the lake,” Steve said.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of July 9-15, 2014.

The July 4th holiday and fireworks celebrations always bring a welcomed influx of boaters to the Lake Tahoe Basin. With sunny skies and warm temperatures predicted for the 4th of July holiday week, boaters are urged to Clean, Drain and Dry their boats before arriving at the roadside inspection stations in Tahoe to avoid delays and decontamination fees. As a reminder, all stations close at 5:30 p.m., so please plan your travel accordingly.

South Lake Tahoe area agencies have partnered to launch an Adopt-a-Beach-Tahoe program that will coordinate beach clean-up dates regularly from June 15 to Sept. 15, 2014.

The City of South Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, League to Save Lake Tahoe, the US Forest Service Basin Management Unit, and Douglas County have developed the theme, “Caring is Cool - Lake Tahoe’s clarity starts with you, and there are a number of ways to help!”

The 14th Annual Water Quality Snapshot Day will be held Saturday, May 17, from 9 am to 12 pm throughout South Lake Tahoe. The event is a citizen-based environmental effort designed to take a “snapshot,” at one moment in time, of the water quality throughout the Lake Tahoe and Truckee River watershed. Water quality monitoring will take place from the tributaries flowing into the Lake.

David C. Antonucci, author, historian and regional expert on Lake Tahoe, Mark Twain, and the Olympic Games at the Lake, will speak on “Fairest Picture – Mark Twain at Lake Tahoe”, the first and only book devoted solely to chronicling Mark Twain’s experiences in the Lake Tahoe region to the Carson City Leisure Hour Club on Wednesday, May 21.

The April court decision to uphold the 2012 Lake Tahoe Regional Plan is being appealed by the Sierra Club and Friends of the West Shore according to a notice filed Wednesday.

The Carson Water Subconservancy District is offering a two-day bus tour of the Carson River Watershed from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on June 11-12, 2014. The Carson River Watershed “Get on the Bus Tour” will cover a variety of watershed topics and locations from the headwaters in Alpine County, CA to the terminus at the Carson Sink near Fallon.

Headed up to Lake Tahoe for some spring boating? Most roadside stations for inspections and decontaminations of motorized boats and watercraft will begin Thursday, kicking off the 2014 boating season.

A station at Highway 267 south of Truckee will open May 22. Because of budget constraints, the station at Homewood is closed.

Nine projects have been awarded grants through the 2014 Lake Tahoe License Plate program, which generated around $350,000 last year from the sale of special plates through the DMV. Grant recipients were announced Tuesday by the Nevada Division of State Lands.

Grants are made available annually for projects that preserve and restore the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Have you heard about the water and natural resource based programs and projects happening in the Carson River Watershed? Please join the Carson River Coalition and the Carson Water Subconservancy District for the 2014 Carson River Watershed Forum on Thursday, April 3, 2014 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The forum will feature speakers from several disciplines presenting projects, programs, studies, and educational outreach activities that occurred throughout the Carson River Watershed in 2013.

Have you heard about the water and natural resource based programs and projects happening in the Carson River Watershed? Please join the Carson River Coalition and the Carson Water Subconservancy District for the 2014 Carson River Watershed Forum on Thursday, April 3, 2014 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The forum will feature speakers from several disciplines presenting projects, programs, studies, and educational outreach activities that occurred throughout the Carson River Watershed in 2013.

An extra-curricular activity at Eagle Valley Middle School, 11 Carson City students prepared for three months at after school meetings and on their own to compete in the state Science Olympiad held March 8 in Las Vegas. The team is coached by Josh Billings, 8th grade science teacher with assistance from family and teachers.

We were relieved to read that not all tribal members are supporting the proposed motocross track on the Washoe Tribe’s land. It gave us hope that the Washoe people really do believe in their statement that “the Washoe Tribe have long considered themselves stewards of our land and continue to maintain that position, never to compromise or sacrifice our environmental and archeologically sensitive lands.”

In our opinion the development of a motocross track in the proposed location would be a complete contradiction to this statement.

In a 4 to 1 decision the Lyon County Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved a Master Plan Amendment and zone change sought by Comstock Mining.

Commissioners took testimony 4.5 hours of testimony in regards to Comstock Mining’s application for a Master Plan Amendment and Zone Change. The chambers and hallways filled with about 250 residents.

Grant money generated through the sale of Nevada Lake Tahoe license plates is available for projects designed to preserve and restore the lake, the state's division of lands announced Friday.

Around $350,000 generated from the plate sales will be available to public agencies seeking funding, according to a news release. Proposals which include the implementation of capital improvement projects that further the attainment of the TRPA Environmental Thresholds will be prioritized in this funding cycle.

Environmental analysis by the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies a Heavenly Mountain Resort proposal to expand year-round, non-skiing activities at the Lake Tahoe resort that straddles the Nevada and California borders.

New activities planned for the resort feature zipline and skycycle canopy tours, a mountain bike park, a ropes course, water activities, hiking trails, mountain excursion tours and nature interpretation. Heavenly is also proposing to create a snow cat emergency evacuation route for the gondola line.