Truckee River goes dry 7-31-15 at Sparks water flow measuring gauge; Returns to 30 CFS by August 3

In a first for this century, the Truckee River went dry in Sparks on July 31.  It remained at zero flow for around 36 hours, before going up again.  What happened?  Here you can see a dip in the Reno gauge to just 7 CFS for at least 24 hours between noon on July 30 to Continue Reading »

Drought and diversions dry up wetlands

Across western Nevada rivers and lakes are taking a big hit during the current drought, but wetlands rarely get a mention.  Wetlands at Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge and Carson Lake and Pasture – managed by the NV Department of Wildlife (NDOW) and the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District (TCID) – sit at the end of the Newlands Irrigation Project Continue Reading »

Cutthroat Trout spawning in Truckee River after 77 year hiatus

Fish surveys by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the Truckee River show that 1,000 “baby” cutthroat trout are survivors from the successful spring 2014 spawning run.  This is the first time that the famed trout has successfully spawned in the Truckee River since 1938.  See Jeff Delong’s story in the RGJ here.

Truckee River water use and Governor Sandoval’s Drought Forum

On the same day that the RGJ published the lead story about Governor Sandoval’s executive order creating the “Nevada Drought Forum”, the Governor also featured prominently in, “A top water user, Sandoval taking steps to cut back” as one of the top 150 household water users in the Truckee Meadows topping out at over 1,000,000 gallons in Continue Reading »

Truckee River flow cut earliest ever

Driving home the ongoing drought’s historic impact, the flows to the Truckee River from Boca Reservoir are being cut back substantially reducing river flows from 550 CFS (cubic feet per second) to around 250 CFS as of today. According to the RGJ (Drought cuts flow of Boca Reservoir) the Water Master for the Truckee River, Chad Blanchard, is Continue Reading »