A dam project at Marlette Lake, which will draw down around 20 feet of water at the lake and temporarily close a number of nearby hiking trails, is set to get underway this spring.

The $20 million rehabilitation project will replace a section of dam and outlet pipes, which haven’t been worked on since 1956, said Jason Crosby, project manager of Nevada Division of Public Works.

“It has to be done. It is a necessity because of the condition of the dam. It is a high risk dam that needs to be maintained and brought back up to good condition. There is no question that it has to be done,” said Crosby.

Due to the construction, Nevada State Parks announced Tuesday that many trails leading up to the lake will be closed. Go here for the Nevada State Parks trail closure announcement.

“We are going to replace the outlet pipes and there is seepage through the earth dam that will be replaced,” said Crosby. “In order to do that we have to draw down the water, around 20 feet, from Marlette Lake.”

The water from the lake goes down into Marlette Creek and winds up at Lake Tahoe. The lake is also the sole water supply for Virginia City. Carson City also draws water from the lake, around 15 to 20 percent, he said.

Water will be re-supplied through a system of collection systems, including north of Hobart Lake and what is called the east slope collection, which collects surface water from the area. He said water supplies to Carson City and Virginia City will be maintained through these collection systems.

The lake draining is already underway. Construction will begin as soon as crews are able to access the area, which is when the snow melts, he said. Granite Construction is the contractor.

“Once we get to 20 feet, there will be a coffer dam, a rubber membrane that is filled with water that will retain the remaining amount of water at Marlette,” he said. “And once we get that up, we will do construction work on the earthen dam, remove that and replace the earthen dam and all the outlet structures, including replacing the spillway.”

How long will it take?

The first year of the project will last from May then until October 2025, the majority of the job will be done this year. That is the plan, he said.

Next year there will still be work to do, beginning in May 2026, where crews will put control structures there. The project is planned for this summer and summer of 2026, with the majority of the project completed in 2025, he said.

“We are going to replenish the water in Marlette, which will be approximately 5 to 7 years to replenish after we construct the dam,” he said, noting that history of water levels at the lake show a replenishment rate of around three feet a year.

What happens to the fish?

Most of the fish at Marlette Lake have already been transported to other lakes, including Spooner and Hobart, Crosby said. A small portion of fish will remain at Marlette. The lake will not be completely drained, so there will be around 15 to 20 feet left in the lake for the remainder of the fish to survive.

Lakeview and Hobart Lake impacts

There are also other planned state projects in the future, including Hobart Dam in spring of 2026, and also, the east slope water transmission line, where renovations will begin this summer of 2025.

Beginning this spring or early summer, the east slope transmission line will be replaced, and this will require closures along Lakeview Road.

“This will start when we get up there, likely May, said Crosby. “Lakeview Road around Hobart is going to be closed as soon as the snow melts. Hobart Lake itself will be closed starting in spring of 2026,” he said, noting the road will be closed this year and next year for both the east slope transmission and Hobart Dam project, which will last from May 2026 and end in October of 2026.