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Lake Tahoe Watershed Protection Strategy
The Challenge
Although water pollution controls have been in place for over thirty years, Lake Tahoe's famed clarity has continued to diminish. Over half the trees in some areas of the forest surrounding Lake Tahoe are dead or dying, and traffic congestion generates pollutants whose impact on air quality compounds both water quality and forest health problems.
The Solution
To restore and protect Lake Tahoe, EPA is helping to coordinate federal, state, and local efforts so that programs at all levels are as effective as possible at addressing environmental problems. For example, in 1998, EPA funded efforts by the University of California at Davis to develop a predictive water quality model for the Lake, and work by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) to develop monitoring methods that are more timely in measuring the effectiveness of various pollution control measures. These efforts, combined with those from a variety of agencies, contributed to the U. S. Forest Service's comprehensive watershed assessment, published in February 2000, being used as the scientific basis for setting environmental priorities within the Tahoe Basin. In addition, Congress passed the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, which is expected to fund the Federal Government's share of the Environmental Improvement Program (or EIP) that inventories all programs, projects, and research needed to restore the Lake Tahoe Basin.
The Results
In addition to the water quality model and the monitoring projects mentioned above, EPA has supported a variety of watershed and wetlands restoration projects to reduce sedimentation and flow of pollutants into the Lake, including mapping all drinking water wells and lake water intakes so development threats to drinking water can be avoided, and contributing funds for replacing an aging pipeline that exports treated wastewater from the South Lake Tahoe Basin. We continue to support additional air monitoring around the Lake that will help assess the relationship between air pollution and Lake water quality, and the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board is developing the detailed loadings analysis and reduction plan needed to effect the Lake's water quality restoration. Key to the success of all these efforts at Lake Tahoe are the numerous partnerships within the Basin, comprised of federal, state and local agencies, tribes, and other key stakeholders, all represented on the Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory Committee. These partnerships bring together the many diverse interests in the Basin to work together on the common goal of restoring and preserving the environmental qualities that make Lake Tahoe a national resource.
Contacts
For additional information, contact Jane Freeman at (775) 588-4547 ext. 248.