lake tahoe clarity

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - For 23 years political leaders from the White House to state capitols have professed their commitment to protecting Lake Tahoe.

At the first Lake Tahoe Summit on July 27, 1997, then-President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore told of their commitment to keeping Tahoe blue after decades of erosion from roads, increased emissions from automobiles and boats, removal of wetlands and overgrown and dying forests were threatening its clarity.

Volunteers from the South Shore community have stepped up to adopt, and maintain, the decorative gateways signs that welcome motorists to the Lake Tahoe basin.

The signs read, “Entering the Lake Tahoe Watershed – Help Protect It!” They are meant to remind the millions of people who visit Tahoe each year that they are entering a special place and share a duty to help protect its famously clear waters and unique environment.

Lake Tahoe is one of California’s greatest natural treasures. It is a beauty to behold, with forested mountains surrounding the deep blue shimmering surface. It is famous for many recreational activities- snowboarding, skiing, hiking, mountain biking, boating, fishing, and sunbathing. But the clear blue waters of Tahoe are in trouble. Invasive species, climate change, and sedimentation all threaten the unique ecosystems of the lake.

While clarity improved at Lake Tahoe for a second straight year in 2012, long-term trends show that climate change is impacting the Lake Tahoe Basin with drier years, less precipitation, higher lake temperatures and projected lower lake levels.

These conclusions are found within the lake's annual health exam,"Tahoe: State of the Lake Report 2013," released today by the Tahoe Environmental Research Center at the University of California, Davis.

The State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday approved certification of a water quality management plan that allows regional planning and water quality agencies to balance infill development needs and environmentally protective policies focused on improving Lake Tahoe clarity.

Lake Tahoe’s clarity improved in 2012 for the second year in a row, and its waters were the clearest in 10 years, according to University of California, Davis, scientists who study the lake.

Last year’s average annual clarity level was 75.3 feet, or a 6.4-foot improvement from 2011, according to data released today by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Natural forces and human actions have affected the lake's clarity, physics, chemistry and biology since 1968, when UC Davis first began continuous monitoring of Lake Tahoe.
Despite an extreme weather year, overall clarity at Lake Tahoe improved in 2011. Yet underlying trends portray a more complex picture of the Lake Tahoe ecosystem, according to the annual “Tahoe: State of the Lake Report 2012,” released today by the Tahoe Environmental Research Center at the University of California, Davis.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lake Tahoe clarity improved in 2011, but overall has remained nearly stable since 2000, according to UC Davis scientists who study the lake.Data released today by the ...