In the News

Citizens Get Opportunity to Test Water Quality May 22
date posted: May 18 2004

By John Cobourn, Water Resource Specialist;
and Heather Segale, Environmental Education Coordinator; University of Nevada Cooperative Extension

Each spring, the Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition (LTEEC) hosts a fun half-day event where families and volunteers can help monitor the water quality of streams flowing into Lake Tahoe.

Volunteer team leaders are trained in the proper protocols for collecting field data and water samples. The leaders then take small groups of citizens to particular streams near the lakeshore. Most volunteers are fascinated to learn about water testing. Virtually all find it fun to work in a friendly group at a beautiful site on one of Tahoe’s spectacular streams.

This annual event is Snapshot Day. It is sponsored by the Tahoe-Truckee Clean Water Team of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition. The event begins at 9 a.m., May 22. Meeting locations include Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Lake Tahoe Community College in South Lake Tahoe, Truckee River Watershed Council in Truckee, and Washoe-Storey Conservation District in Reno.

Snapshot Day is designed to get community volunteers involved in studying the water moving through the Lake Tahoe and Truckee River watersheds. Volunteers take water samples in order to develop a picture or “snapshot” of water quality and watershed health at a single point in time.

The volunteer monitoring teams will be taking the vital signs of streams within our watershed to determine the relative health of each stream. They will conduct a stream walk, which includes performing a visual assessment and taking photos. They also will collect water samples that will be analyzed later for nutrients, suspended sediment, turbidity and fecal coliform bacteria. In addition, they will measure field parameters, such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and conductivity.

This year’s event will have some important focal points. Testing for dangerous fecal coliform bacteria in waters near high traffic areas, such as public beaches or neighborhood dog walking areas, will be a priority. Another focus will be gathering samples from the mouths of all 63 Tahoe tributaries. Currently, only 15 of these are consistently monitored year-round. The samples taken this year will help provide data for the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study that is being conducted by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board to help determine nutrient and sediment thresholds. Researchers from the University of California, Davis, are using the data to develop and calibrate the Lake Clarity Model. This model is a tool for calculating the fate and transport of pollutants such as phosphorus, nitrogen and fine sediments and their impact on water quality.

In addition to the Lake Tahoe event, Truckee volunteers will be collecting base-line data for all tributaries leading to the Truckee River below Lake Tahoe. Volunteers in Reno will be collecting data for streams that previously have not been sampled. This will allow us to better assess the water quality of the larger Truckee River watershed.

Citizen monitoring is becoming more popular around the country as agencies are asked to do more with less resources. Local agencies and research institutions see citizen monitoring as a viable tool for obtaining the necessary data at a low cost.

On Snapshot Day, all volunteers will meet at the training locations at 9 a.m. to pick up sampling supplies. Refreshments will be provided. The overall goals of Snapshot Day are to stimulate citizen interest and participation in local water quality issues, to monitor the success of Environmental Improvement Program projects, and to add to ongoing large-scale collaborative efforts to prevent further degradation of water quality. For more information, contact Heather Segale, Environmental Education Coordinator, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, (775) 832-4138.

Sponsoring agencies will provide all the sampling and monitoring equipment. Sponsors include California State Water Resource Control Board, Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, Lake Tahoe Community College, Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Nevada Division of State Lands, Sierra Nevada College, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Tahoe Research Group, Truckee River Watershed Council, University of California Cooperative Extension, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, USDA Forest Service, Washoe Storey Conservation District and Waste Not – Incline Village General Improvement District.

Watch for “The Lake Tahoe Report” in the North Lake Bonanza each Friday, and tune in to KOLO-TV News Channel 8 Tuesdays at 5 p.m. to learn more. Next week learn about the community fire planning process underway in each of the fire protection districts at the Lake. “The Lake Tahoe Report” is a collaborative effort of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, UC Davis and the USDA Forest Service. For more information, contact Heather Segale, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, (775) 832-4138, or logon to www.lteec.org or www.unce.unr.edu.