stormwater runoff

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) has adopted 156 projects, valued at $583 million, to support needed upkeep on California’s aging roads and bridges, make upgrades to transit and rail systems and encourage use of alternative forms of transportation, including biking and walking. One major project in South Lake Tahoe has been adopted.

Most traffic-interfering work will be restricted from 5 a.m. Friday, July 1 until 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 5 due to the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS
State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

NOTE: Most traffic-interfering work will be limited from 6 a.m. Friday until 10 p.m. Monday, May 30 for the Memorial Day weekend.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS
State Route 89 (Placer County): Work has resumed on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by spring 2017.

Caltrans long-term and short-term roadwork projects around the Lake Tahoe Basin:

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

To prepare for the $57 million Caltrans project that will start in South Lake Tahoe in 2017, Southwest Gas is continuing their gas-line relocation work along Highway 50 from the "Y" to Al Tahoe Blvd this spring and summer.

The construction work will be completed during both daytime and nighttime hours and Southwest Gas officials told South Tahoe Now there will be no major bottlenecks that were prevalent last summer.

"There will be less lane restrictions and improved traffic flow," said Stephen Miller, of Southwest Gas Corporate Communications.

South Lake Tahoe residents may remember Courtney Walker when she worked for the Tahoe Resource Conservation District and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, but now she has a new job as the newly hired Douglas County Stormwater Program Manager.

She is bringing with her over 10 years of experience with stormwater and watershed management. With much of her experience in the Tahoe and Carson River Watershed area, Courtney is well versed in local stormwater and watershed coordination.

The Nevada Department of Transportation is urging residents to help protect water quality by preventing and reporting illicit drainage and discharge onto state roads and transportation facilities.

Illicit discharge is anything entering a roadway drainage system that is not natural stormwater. Pesticides, construction dirt or materials, as well as materials from neighboring properties and roadway runoff containing fertilizers, vehicle oil and chemicals are examples.

Several South Lake Tahoe projects were awarded this week by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) as being the "Best in the Basin" for demonstrating exceptional planning, design, and compatibility with Lake Tahoe’s environment and communities.

The projects that were recognized upgraded highways, built new bike trails, improved water quality, restored environmentally-sensitive areas, remodeled blighted commercial buildings, and created defensible space for better wildfire protection.

The Best in the Basin award winners are:

Everyone hopes for a winter of big storms at Lake Tahoe. Recent media hype evokes images of a "Godzilla" El Niño. But for Tahoe, big storms come with big impacts to Lake clarity as snowmelt and stormwater runoff transport pollutants and fine sediment into the Lake.

So how do Tahoe communities protect the Lake from big storm events?

Clarity levels at Lake Tahoe in 2014 showed the biggest improvements in more than a decade, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis, who have studied the lake for the last half century.

The improvements are in part due to continuous work from the Lake Tahoe community to lower pollutants to the lake. They were also influenced by the drought, as reduced precipitation meant fewer contaminants flowed into Lake Tahoe, particularly during the summer, when clarity levels were the highest recorded since 2002.

Jesse Patterson of the League to Save Lake Tahoe will be the guest speaker during March Tahoe Talks. He will speak on "Volunteer Monitoring: How to Facilitate Change through Observation."

There have been many environmental efforts to help keep Lake Tahoe blue over the last few decades, from stormwater treatments to the banning of two stroke engines. It's long been known that road runoff is the last remaining big culprit.

Crews have been working on an underground stormwater system in the Bijou area of South Lake Tahoe. The work is causing both Fairway Drive and Bal Bijou Road to have detours during the week but open and no controls on weekends.

Work is wrapping up with the installation of a box culvert for Bijou Creek and work is now focused on new curbing and inlets. The Bal Bijou storm drain system will be connected at US 50 next week, with curb installation to follow.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe is inviting the public to its first Pipe Keepers Public Forum on April 17 at the Blue Angel Café in South Lake Tahoe, featuring five regional experts who will discuss stormwater problems and solutions in the Tahoe Basin. The event will feature free food and drinks, a free raffle, expert presentations and a question and answer session.

Ribbon cutting ceremony at Lakeview Commons at 2 pm to celebrate the completion of the US Highway 50 Trout Creek Bridge to Ski Run Blvd Project.

The project was a decade in the planning and took 3 building seasons to complete. The project included new storm drains to treat stormwater runoff to protect the lake, ADA compliant sidewalks with lighting and landscaping and Class II bike lanes to give bikers a safer ride.

Lakeview Commons is at the corner of US Highway 50 and Lakeview Avenue.

Sandboxes have come a long way. A new interactive, augmented-reality exhibit brings watersheds to life at the University of California, Davis' Tahoe Science Center in Incline Village, Nev.

Participants run their hands through real sand, forming mountains, lakes and rivers, while a 3-D camera and digital projector allowusers to create virtual topography in real time, make it "rain" and watch where the water flows.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe received a grant Monday from Wells Fargo and Company as part of a $3 million Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program across 64 community-based nonprofits nationwide to help support land and water conservation, energy efficiency, infrastructure and educational outreach.

Lake Tahoe clarity improved in 2011, but overall has remained nearly stable since 2000, according to a summary issued by UC Davis scientists who study the lake. Data released today by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency reported the average annual clarity level for 2011 at 68.9 feet, a 4.5-foot improvement over 2010, when average clarity levels were the second-worst on record.