Rains reduce Tahoe's clarity, monitoring help needed

Tahoe in the News

Rains reduce Tahoe’s clarity, monitoring help needed

Colin Lygren, KOLO 8 News

February 10, 2017

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (KOLO) — A high-elevation rain event like the one we experienced this week adds a lot of water to Lake Tahoe. That’s good for lake levels, but bad for lake clarity.

“That is really the pollution we are most concerned about in Tahoe,” said Jesse Patterson, Deputy Director of Keep Tahoe Blue (The League to Save Lake Tahoe).

Patterson says run-off is the lake’s biggest source of fine sediments and the biggest source of reduction in lake clarity.

“(Fine sediments) stay suspended in the water and they make it so you can’t see down as far,” said Patterson.

The first step in preventing those particles from getting in the lake is knowing where they are coming from. To learn that, Keep Tahoe Blue uses volunteer ‘pipe keepers.’

Watch now

More related articles

Tahoe in the News
array(1) { [0]=> object(WP_Term)#5788 (11) { ["term_id"]=> int(39) ["name"]=> string(17) "Tahoe in the News" ["slug"]=> string(10) "tahoe-news" ["term_group"]=> int(0) ["term_taxonomy_id"]=> int(39) ["taxonomy"]=> string(13) "news_category" ["description"]=> string(0) "" ["parent"]=> int(0) ["count"]=> int(537) ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" ["term_order"]=> string(1) "7" } }

AT&T to remove toxic cables from Lake Tahoe following lawsuit settlement

AT&T will start the process to remove lead-sheathed cables from Lake soon.

Read More
Tahoe in the News
array(1) { [0]=> object(WP_Term)#5790 (11) { ["term_id"]=> int(39) ["name"]=> string(17) "Tahoe in the News" ["slug"]=> string(10) "tahoe-news" ["term_group"]=> int(0) ["term_taxonomy_id"]=> int(39) ["taxonomy"]=> string(13) "news_category" ["description"]=> string(0) "" ["parent"]=> int(0) ["count"]=> int(537) ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" ["term_order"]=> string(1) "7" } }

Lahontan cutthroat trout were once wiped from Tahoe. Scientists have them spawning again

Researchers are studying Lahontan cutthroat trout spawning patterns in Lake Tahoe to learn about other species.

Read More
Tahoe in the News
array(1) { [0]=> object(WP_Term)#5792 (11) { ["term_id"]=> int(39) ["name"]=> string(17) "Tahoe in the News" ["slug"]=> string(10) "tahoe-news" ["term_group"]=> int(0) ["term_taxonomy_id"]=> int(39) ["taxonomy"]=> string(13) "news_category" ["description"]=> string(0) "" ["parent"]=> int(0) ["count"]=> int(537) ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" ["term_order"]=> string(1) "7" } }

Changing winters are impacting Lake Tahoe and other freshwater ecosystems

Recent research sheds light on how freshwaters are threatened by climate change and impacts to winter.

Read More
Tahoe in the News
array(1) { [0]=> object(WP_Term)#5793 (11) { ["term_id"]=> int(39) ["name"]=> string(17) "Tahoe in the News" ["slug"]=> string(10) "tahoe-news" ["term_group"]=> int(0) ["term_taxonomy_id"]=> int(39) ["taxonomy"]=> string(13) "news_category" ["description"]=> string(0) "" ["parent"]=> int(0) ["count"]=> int(537) ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" ["term_order"]=> string(1) "7" } }

Endorsement: Yes on Proposition 4. California can’t wait to invest in climate resilience

California's Proposition 4 authorizes bonds for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, and protecting communities and natural lands from climate risks.

Read More