Most Tahoe residents know that all private property owners at Lake Tahoe are required to install and maintain effective best management practices (BMPs). They know that these property improvements help control runoff and erosion resulting from the disturbance of our watersheds caused by urbanization. Scientific evidence shows that these techniques are necessary to stop nonpoint source water pollution, which is seriously damaging Lake Tahoe’s water quality and clarity.
One Tahoe neighborhood has made it a community goal to attain 100 percent compliance with BMP retrofit requirements. The Cave Rock General Improvement District (GID) serves about 80 homes on Tahoe’s east shore. Their neighborhood is in a “priority one” watershed, which means that its soils and topography make it particularly susceptible to erosion once the land is developed. The deadline for all structures in priority one watersheds to have implemented BMPs was Oct. 15, 2000.
By the summer of 2002, the Cave Rock neighborhood was about 25 percent in compliance. Only 20 out of 80 homes had received a TRPA Certificate of BMP Completion. The GID was at that time in the second year of a four-year environmental improvement program (EIP) project to stabilize very steep and eroding slopes with revegetation and rock slope protection. Bill Lane and other members of the GID Board began to encourage all homeowners to get their free BMP site evaluations and make the necessary changes to match the improvements being made in the streets and the adjacent steep cut and fill slopes.
While the EIP project, funded by Nevada Bond Act money through the Nevada Division of State Lands, was stabilizing and beautifying the neighborhood commons areas, it was not designed to treat runoff from private properties. If private property owners do not also prevent their runoff from reaching the street drains, the whole system will become overloaded in a rainstorm and carry large amounts of damaging nutrients and sediment into the lake.
The homeowners were encouraged by their GID to call the Nevada Tahoe Conservation District, which offers the free site evaluations to single-family homeowners in the Nevada portion of the basin. During a site evaluation, a conservation specialist visits the property and gives a report and drawings of the recommended BMPs for their home to the homeowner. Typically, the BMPs for a residential property entail inexpensive measures such as planting native vegetation and spreading mulch on exposed soil areas, stabilizing eroding slopes, and capturing and infiltrating driveway and rooftop runoff at the property. Homeowners also are counseled about related matters, such as creating defensible space, irrigating properly to conserve water, and minimizing use of fertilizer to prevent escape of its damaging nutrients to the lake.
Once a property owner has received the evaluation report, the BMPs can be installed by a qualified contractor or by the owner. After installation, the property owner can call TRPA’s Erosion Control Team, and receive a final site verification to receive a Certificate of BMP Completion. This visit is not used to look for problems, only for effective BMPs. Implementation of BMPs improves the appearance and property value of the home and protects the lake from polluted runoff. The certificate also gives the property owner proof that the required BMPs have been installed, which is required if the property is ever sold.
The proactive stance of the neighbors and GID at Cave Rock serves as a model for neighborhoods around the basin. They have not only improved their properties and helped to protect the lake, but they have also gotten to know each better. Both the Nevada Tahoe Conservation District (NTCD) and the Tahoe Resource Conservation District (TRCD) are very interested in working with other neighborhoods who want to set a goal of implementing BMPs on all their properties. If you and your neighbors would like to take this approach, call NTCD, (775) 586-7223, Ext. 1, if you live in Nevada; and call TRCD, (530) 543-1501, Ext. 114, if you live in California. If you have a commercial or industrial property or live in a planned unit development (PUD), call TRPA, (775) 588-4547, Ext. 202.
The Lake Tahoe Report 047
Air Date: 2003.12.23
Video Segment: Cave Rock Estates Homeowners Proactive with BMPs
Interviewees: Bill Lane (Cave Rock Estates) & Brendan Ferry (TRPA)