Lake Tahoe, CA/NV – A bi-state effort to reduce pollution and restore Lake Tahoe’s world-famous water clarity kept significant amounts of stormwater and fine-grained sediment out of the lake in 2023, despite challenges from a winter of record snowfall and runoff, according to an annual lake performance report released today.
While a prolonged snowmelt period in spring 2023 swept sediment into the lake and reduced clarity, partners in the Lake Tahoe Total Maximum Daily Load Program (TMDL Program) helped keep the lake’s annual average clarity at around 68 feet, which is in line with what has been observed over the past two decades, the bi-state report shows. This was achieved despite continuous periods of heavy snowfall and cold temperatures in 2023, which hindered street sweeping and stormwater infiltration efforts for long stretches.