Final Tahoe History Talk on the Beach for 2024: "Getting the Lead Out of Lake Tahoe" with Sierra Club

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - "Getting the Lead Out of Lake Tahoe," a presentation by Evan Dreyer of the Tahoe Lead Removal Project will be the final Tahoe History Talks on the Beach for the summer. Join the Lake Tahoe Historical Society and Tahoe Area Sierra Club on Tuesday, August 13 at 6:30 p.m. at Lakeview Commons, 1004 Lakeview Avenue, South Lake Tahoe.

There are an estimated 139,000 pounds of lead cables that are abandoned in Lake Tahoe, six to eight miles of it. The defunct century-old telephone cables contain toxic lead. One long segment of the cables rests offshore between Baldwin Beach and Rubicon Way, and another segment is inside Emerald Bay.

Divers with Below the Blue discovered the abandoned cables in 2012 as they were removing trash from the bottom of Lake Tahoe. That discovery led to years of work, first to discover what the cables were, who they belonged to, and what they were doing to the lake. Three years ago there was an agreement with AT&T, the company that acquired the one responsible for the cable installation, to get them removed. They were to pay $1.5 million to pay for their removal but things have stalled.

Dreyer will be sharing the history of the cables, his group's efforts, and their multi-generational approach, along with key developments of their petitions and permits to get the job done.