LAKE TAHOE, Nev. – Construction on the Marlette Lake Dam Rehabilitation Project is complete and the Nevada Division of State Parks has reopened recreation access to the West side of the Spooner Lake backcountry, including the Flume Trail.
The historic water system was built in the mid-1870s to supply water to Virginia City. After draining the reservoir, the project removed the existing earthen dam and replaced it with a new one. The project also included upgrades to help the dam better withstand earthquakes, improvements to the spillway, and replacement of the discharge piping and outlet valves. The project started in June 2025 and was completed on schedule this month.
The Marlette Lake Dam is a critical component of the Marlette Lake Water System, which supplies water to Storey County and Carson City. Seepage within the dam was first identified during an inspection in 2017 by the Nevada Division of Water Resources, and it was determined that this seepage could eventually lead to a catastrophic failure. The Marlette Lake Dam Rehabilitation was funded by the FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Fund and improves the overall safety of the 150-year-old earthen embankment dam, ensuring the longevity of the water resource. Environmental and cultural resource surveys were completed in the four-year planning span of the project in coordination with FEMA. Nevada State Public Works contracted Lumos & Associates and Granite Construction to engineer and construct the new dam.
Marlette Lake was drawn down approximately 20 feet, and approximately 20 feet of water remained in the lake during construction. The natural recharge process is ongoing and highly dependent on the snowpack received over the winter months. High-level modeling conservatively estimates it will take four to six seasons for the lake’s water level to return to normal. When conditions allow, the Nevada Department of Wildlife will stock Marlette Lake with Rainbow and Lahontan Cutthroat Trout. For real-time updates on fish stocking, visit: https://www.ndow.org/get-outside/fishing-stocking-reports/database/?region=all&show_all=false
Project website: https://publicworks.nv.gov/