Keeping Lake Tahoe blue is a multi-million dollar, year-round effort, but in 2017, the Jewel of the Sierra saw the worst clarity numbers in its recorded history. Now, state officials and scientists are taking a close look at what caused the decline in water quality.
The prevailing thought is that mother nature is to blame for the drop, which took the lake's five year average of 70 feet of clarity, to the 2017 low of 59.7 feet. That's 4.4 feet worse than the previous record.
2017 was a standout year when it comes to unusual weather, with the area's wettest winter on record, following years of drought.
"In 2017 we had a series of weather events or weather patterns that were not necessarily typical and actually unusual, particularly when you look at it cumulatively," Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Deputy Director Jim Lawrence said. "When you get the rain on the snow, you're going to get sediment going into the lake."
The previous years of drought meant less vegetation to control erosion, more dust, and loose sediment. Then the rain came, and all that washed into the lake.
At least, that's the theory right now.
There's also the possibility that other factors, like human behavior and pollution, could be hurting the lake's famous clarity. So the experts are asking everyone to do their part to help. To start, Lawrence said people should carpool as often as possible. That will reduce exhaust pollution, as well as sediment on the roads. For outdoor enthusiasts:
"If you're hiking and biking, stay on the trails. Going off the trails causes erosion," Lawrence said. "If you're on the beaches, whatever you take in, pack it out. Everything ends up in the lake, because it is a basin."
And finally, be careful not to start wildfires. Lawrence said any reduction in the forest will further hurt the quality of the lake's water.
To learn more about the clarity issue and what they're doing to fix it, tune in for Face the State this weekend. It's airing Saturday at 4:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., and on Sunday at 6:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. It's also posted here after it airs.
