Lake Clarity

Patty Kouyoumdjian: Clear Path to a Clear Lake Tahoe (1) 7:03

There is a clear path we can take to restore Lake Tahoe’s clarity according to Patty Kouyoumdjian, Executive Officer of the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. She says, “I think we are very clear on where the sources of pollution are and I think we are relatively set on what actions need to happen to improve lake clarity”. In this 2012 Tahoe Project interview Kouyoumdjian emphasizes the “true and hard and real measures that we have to reach,” talking about the reductions in ultra-fine particles that have to be made at Lake Tahoe by 2026. She says, we now have “a very clear roadmap of what we need to do,” to accomplish our goal of water clarity at Lake Tahoe.

photo: Reducing ultra fine sediment particles getting to Lake Tahoe will help water clarity. Blue Tahoe Wave © 2013 Michelle Sweeney

Bob Larsen: Cost-Effective Steps to a Clear Lake Tahoe (1) 8:11

Bob Larsen is Staff Scientist at the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. In this 2012 interview he says, “I think the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) provided us with the opportunity to be more involved in the process [of solving Lake Tahoe clarity decline], to engage with the scientific community and our implementing partners to figure out, to better understand, the problem and to better understand what the potential solutions might be—to be a more-active partner in the restoration of Lake Tahoe’s transparency.”

photo: Maintaining and operating roads is a big step toward water clarity. Emerald Bay Moraine © 2013 Michelle Sweeney

Peter Kraatz: Maintain Roads and Infrastructure for a Clear Lake Tahoe (1) 11:16

Public Works professionals throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin are striving to meet the Clarity Challenge—to reduce the number of ultra-fine sediment particles that get to Lake Tahoe every year by one-third by 2026. This is no small task. Among them is Peter Kraatz, Deputy Director of Public Works at Placer County. In this 2012 interview Kraatz talks about the “preferred design approach” engineers use to design systems that reduce the transport of ultra-fine sediment to Lake Tahoe. 

Existing infrastructure such as roads and bike paths can be operated and maintained to help Lake Tahoe clarity. photo: Tahoe City Bike Path source: Tahoe City Public Utility District

Improving Water Clarity: Conversation with Scientists Nicole Beck and Jason Drew (Part 1 of 2)

This is a conversation with two scientists who have worked in the field toward improving Lake Tahoe water quality for over a decade. Dr. Nicole Beck is Principal and founder of 2^ND NATURE—an ecosystem science and design firm based in Santa Cruz, California. Beck applies her academic credentials in physical and chemical sciences in the field where she has worked on environmental water quality issues since 1993. Jason Drew is an Associate Scientist at Nichols Consulting Engineers. He has been working on water quality projects in the Basin since 2001. In this interview Beck and Drew share insight into how policies have evolved in Tahoe to better-focus effort on the pollutants causing Tahoe’s decline.

photo: Keeping ultra fine sediment (<16 microns, diameter) out of Lake Tahoe is the primary focus of the TMDL Clarity Challenge.

Improving Water Clarity: Conversation with Scientists Nicole Beck and Jason Drew (Part 2 of 2)

Welcome to part 2 in the interview with scientists Nicole Beck and Jason Drew who work in the field and at the drawing table on water quality solutions for Tahoe. In this interview segment Beck and Drew emphasize how maintenance and operations of existing water quality tools and infrastructure is critical to advancing toward water quality goals. They also share insight into the challenges inherent in securing funding for operations and maintenance.

photo: Keeping ultra fine sediment (<16 microns, diameter) out of Lake Tahoe is the primary focus of the TMDL Clarity Challenge.