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yesterday

Lake Tahoe Clarity Holds Steady but Fails to Improve

Scientists are probing warming waters alongside microscopic particles to explain why clarity remains unchanged despite major sediment-control efforts.

Researcher Brandon Berry samples periphyton algae while diving in Lake Tahoe’s West Shore.
Katie Senft of UC Davis TERC dives in Lake Tahoe. The lake’s famed blue waters became significantly murkier in 2024, with average clarity plunging to 62.3 feet — the third lowest on record. 
Paddleboarders and a kayaker explore Sand Harbor in Incline Village, Nevada, on Friday, June 30, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group/TNS)

Overview

  • The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center reported a nearly 6-foot drop in average clarity to 62.3 feet in 2024, marking one of the murkiest years since records began in 1968.
  • The Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program’s $3.1 billion investment has slowed clarity loss by trapping over 500,000 pounds of fine sediment annually without restoring deeper visibility.
  • Winter clarity rebounds are still offset by summer declines with 2024 showing some of the lowest seasonal averages and no deep-water mixing event to boost visibility.
  • Rising lake temperatures, longer summers, wildfire ash and drought impacts linked to climate change are suspected of shifting the factors that control water clarity.
  • Researchers plan targeted studies of picoplankton and other microscopic particles to identify untracked contributors to the lake’s persistent clarity plateau.