Lake Tahoe down 7″ and dropping during our “wettest” month

Drought Monitor for January 20, 2015

Lake Tahoe is a bellwether for the Truckee River.  When it drops below its rim, tough times are on the way.  As of this post, Tahoe’s dropped 7″ below its rim.  A Facebook post from David Bobzien of a photo taken by Steve Tietze underscores the lack of rain and snow.  As Tahoe continues to drop it foretells how serious this drought could be.  If it persists throughout the winter, Tahoe may not even rise to its rim portending a summer of a practically dry Truckee River.  We all need to take this 14 year and continuing drought seriously.

Credit: Steve Tietze Aerial view of the Tahoe outlet into the Truckee River in January 2015

Aerial view of the Tahoe outlet into the Truckee River in January 2015. Snowpack is non-existent.

Demands on the Truckee River exceed the rivers ability to keep up. The river is particularly stressed during droughts which could become more common.

The river is particularly stressed during droughts which could become more common. Here the river near Ivan Sack Park in Reno in the mid-1990s.

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About Dennis Ghiglieri

My concern for the Truckee River grew over the years. It started with picking up trash and supporting better water quality. I helped create the "living river"plan with other citizens on the Community Flood Coalition; a plan to reduce flood impacts to infrastructure through river restoration and protection of the floodplain. I understand how critical the Truckee River is to the environment – and economy – of our entire region. I'm hoping that through these pages we can all understand our connection to the Truckee River and why we need to protect it.