state water

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Long after the fire trucks have come and gone, the threat to a community impacted by wildfire remains. It’s a less obvious threat than a towering inferno destroying homes and ripping through forests and hillsides. It is a hidden threat that arrives with winter rains and California Conservation Corps Corpsmembers are helping communities stay safe from it—toxic runoff, including those from the South Lake Tahoe center.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There will be a public presentation from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24 on the Bijou Park Creek Watershed Restoration Project.

The project is three phases, the first beginning with the removal of the Knight's Inn and addressing flooding issues in that area. The objectives of the complete project are to improve stormwater quality, decrease flooding, restore the Bijou Park Creek SEZ (stream environmental zone), and to install a series of stormwater quality and flood control improvements.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The monthly manual survey of the snowpack at Phillips Station, just west of Lake Tahoe, revealed data that won't catch many by surprise. There is 29 inches of snow with a snow water equivalent (SWE) of 11.5 inches at the location near US50 and Sierra-at-Tahoe Road. This is 47 percent of the March average at this spot.

The SWE measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack, which provides a more accurate forecast of spring runoff.

October 1, 2019 marks the first day of the 2020 Water Year and reservoirs in the state are still full from the epic snow year of 2018-19. California began a new water year today with significantly more water in storage than the previous year thanks to above-average snow and precipitation.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - After a multi-year investigation into conditions at their Lake Tahoe gas stations, one local businessman is now banned from owning or operating gas stations with underground tanks in California while another faces sanctions.

Azad Amiri and Sarbjit S. Kang were accused of violating multiple underground storage tank (UST) requirements at five Lake Tahoe area gas stations: 1140 Emerald Bay Road, 913 Emerald Bay Road, and 2304 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe, 3208 Highway 50 in Meyers, and 8070 North Lake Blvd., Kings Beach.

News spread through South Lake Tahoe this week that surprised and shocked many, the City Council's decision to put City Manager Nancy Kerry on indefinite leave. The council will be meeting in closed session on Monday, February 12, 2018 to discuss the situation. Their agenda item, "PUBLIC EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE/DISMISSAL/RELEASE Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957(b)" starts at 9:00 a.m.

That section of code allows special and closed session meetings to consider the appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, discipline, or dismissal of a public employee.

A significant amount of Nestlé’s water diversions in the San Bernardino National Forest are unauthorized, state water rights investigators say.

The Swiss-based company has been diverting an average of 192 acre feet of water per year from the forest, which is more than the 26 acre feet it is allowed under its current water rights, according to a report released Thursday, Dec. 21, by the State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Water Rights.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council made it official Tuesday and unanimously approved the purchase of the Knight's Inn for $5,935,000, paving the way for the 850-acre Bijou Park Creek Watershed Restoration Project. The 110-unit Knight's Inn, a motel built in 1956 on Highway 50 near Ski Run Blvd., has been owned by the Patel family since 1994.

"This project has been in the works for 10-12 years," said Pradip Patel. "This is the best for me, my family, and the community."

The Sierra Nevada snowpack continues to build during one of the wettest winters in California’s recorded history and this was evident as the monthly snow survey was conducted by the Department of Water Resources at Phillips Station near Sierra-at-Tahoe.

The snow water equivalent (SWE) measured was 179 percent of average, or 43.4 inches.

The 113 inches of snow at Phillips Station contains the fifth-highest March 1 reading of the SWE. In 1969, the record reading was 57.4 inches of snow-water content in 160.9 inches of water.

In their ongoing battle with aquatic invasive plants in the Tahoe Keys, the area's property owners association has applied for a permit to test herbicides in the lagoon in 2018.

This summer,the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association (TKPOA) has been both combating aquatic invasive weeds while also testing out methods for future eradication of the pesky plants from their channels. They will be hosting a public meeting to update the community on their ongoing efforts on Tuesday, November 1 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the South Tahoe Public Utility District board room.

Despite near average rainfall in much of Northern California this past winter, 60 percent of the state remains in severe or extreme drought. Groundwater basins and many reservoirs are badly depleted as the state’s drought grinds into a fifth year. Those living in, and visiting, South Lake Tahoe, have enjoyed higher water levels to view, boat and recreate in.

While the storms hitting the Sierra this December are not unusual, they are very different from recent winters.

As of Christmas Day, 2015, all South Lake Tahoe ski resorts are reporting more snow than they had during the whole 2014 ski season.

Heavenly Valley - 167" of snow in November and December, to date; 87" last season.
Sierra-at-Tahoe - 173" reported, 120" last season.
Kirkwood - 194" reported, 188" last season.

When Governor Jerry Brown told the residents of the state to cut back their water usage, he had the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) tell each region how much to cut back. That benchmark in South Lake Tahoe was 20%.

For the past three months, residents have cut much more than that. In May, water use at South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) was down 34%, followed by 24% in June and 27% in July. This is on top of the 27% reduction in water use that the district's customer have accomplished since 2007.

California took the first step June 5 to regulate its nearly 20-year-old medical marijuana industry, one that lawmakers said currently resembles something out of the “wild, wild West.”

AB266 merges what were two competing bills and attempts to set up state regulations that will pass muster with the federal Department of Justice. It was one of dozens of pieces of legislation advancing through the Legislature Thursday as lawmakers faced a Friday deadline to move bills out of their house of origin.

Following the lowest snowpack ever recorded and with no end to the drought in sight, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced actions that will save water, increase enforcement to prevent wasteful water use, streamline the state's drought response and invest in new technologies that will make California more drought resilient.

In January, Governor Brown called for California residents to drop their water usage by 20% due to the drought. In July, urban water usage in the state was down by 7.5%. White this isn't the requested 20%, it still represents 17 billion gallons of water conserved. That is the equivalent of 25,755 Olympic-sized swimming pools or enough water for 1.7 billion people each to take a 5-minute shower.

A $2.8M Proposition 84 grand was received by the City of South Lake Tahoe’s Engineering Division yesterday. The Round 2 grant will correct erosion control issues in the Sierra Tract neighborhood.

The City of South Lake Tahoe has been awarded a competitive grant from the State Water Resources Control Board through the Proposition 84 Stormwater Grant Program (SWGP).

A total of $42 million was available for Round 1 Implementation projects throughout the State that are designed to reduce and prevent stormwater contamination of rivers, lakes, and streams. The City was one of the 37 applicants to make it through the first round of the application process, and one of only 24 applicants selected for funding.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The California State Water Resources Control Board has approved a proposal by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board that would allow the use of aquatic pestic...

The California State Water Resources is scheduled to vote on a proposal that would allow the use of aquatic pesticides at Lake Tahoe under certain circumstances.The State Water Board is scheduled t...

A joint appeal to the state Water Resources Control Board is being crafted by South Lake Tahoe, and El Dorado and Placer counties regarding the stormwater ...www.laketahoenews.net/.../lahontan-issued-...