watershed

Experts to discuss polluted Chalk Creek
By Jeff DeLong • jdelong@rgj.com • November 14, 2009

Experts will outline plans for Chalk Creek, a tributary of the Truckee River, and discuss ways residents and businesses in the area are contributing to its pollution with everyday practices described as "urban slobber."

Chalk Creek winds about 5 miles from the flanks of Peavine Peak through northwest Reno neighborhoods before entering the river.

Along the way, it picks up dense concentrations of salts and algae nutrients, the result of overwatering of lawns, heavy fertilizing, washing cars on driveways and similar practices, said Lynell Garfield, a hydrologist for the city of Reno.

It's caused Chalk Creek to become one of the region's more polluted streams, tainting quality of Truckee River water that provides 80 percent of the area's water supply.

"If we don't look at the source, we're never going to clean up that creek," said Garfield, who will explain plans to clean up the creek, such as creating a wetlands near Rainbow Ridge Park to help naturally filter creek water.

Cleaning the creek
Officials said residents must make some changes for the effort to clean Chalk Creek to succeed:
Do not overwater and let irrigation water run into storm drains.
Conserve water through drip irrigation, use of soaker hoses, microspray systems and nozzles when washing cars.
Do not over fertilize and never fertilize near ditches, streams over other water bodies.
Store pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals in a covered area.
Use nontoxic, alternative pest control.

If you go
What: Chalk Creek outreach meeting.
Where: Northwest Reno library, 2325 Robb Drive.
When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday
To learn more: www.tmstormwater.com,
www.tmwalandscapeguide.com.

By Jeff DeLong • jdelong@rgj.com • November 13, 2009

Experts will outline plans for Chalk Creek, a tributary of the Truckee River, and discuss ways residents and businesses in the area are contributing to its pollution with everyday practices described as “urban slobber.”

Chalk Creek winds about 5 miles from the flanks of Peavine Peak through northwest Reno neighborhoods before entering the Truckee River.

Along the way, it picks up dense concentrations of salts and algae nutrients, the result of overwatering of lawns, heavy fertilizing, washing cars on driveways and similar practices, said Lynell Garfield, a hydrologist for the city of Reno.

It’s caused Chalk Creek to become one of the region’s more polluted streams, tainting quality of Truckee River water that provides 80 percent of the area’s water supply.

“If we don’t look at the source, we’re never going to clean up that creek,” said Garfield, who will explain plans to clean up the creek, such as creating a wetlands near Rainbow Ridge Park to help naturally filter creek water.

Officials say residents must make some changes for the effort to succeed:

Do not over water and let irrigation water run into storm drains.
Conserve water through drip irrigation, use of soaker hoses, micro-spray systems and nozzles when washing cars.
Do not over fertilize and never fertilize near ditches, streams over other water bodies.
Store pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals in a covered area.
Use non-toxic, alternative pest control.

By Susan Voyles, Reno Gazzette-Journal
February 5, 2009

Where the Truckee River bike trail ends in east Sparks, homeless people follow a dirt road along the river, cross a railroad bridge and follow the historic Pioneer Trail to well-worn side trails to a dozen or so camps built high in the canyons in Storey County.

Cardwell, a retired Reno police lieutenant, Reno firefighter Pat Kleames and a few of their friends cleared five shopping carts and a pickup load of trash two weeks ago at the start of the trail.

But in a tour they led Wednesday, there were beer bottles, clothes and other trash scattered along the trail in the first canyon east of the Reno-Sparks sewer plant. A thick pile of tumbleweeds hid a tent at the mouth of the canyon. Up in that canyon, Jim, 56, a laid-off Reno casino cook, lives among rats at a makeshift home next to a sizeable garbage heap. Buckets of human excrement were 20 to 30 foot steps below the cabin in the steep ravine.

Inside, his shack was warm and tidy.

"I'm fixing it up as best I can," he said. "There's rats all over the place. I'm trying to get rid of them."

Jim said he's been watching the place for a week or so for a friend who had lived there a couple of years. If he has to move, he said he'd find other places along the Truckee River in Reno or Sparks. He doesn't like homeless shelters because he's afraid of getting sick.

Cardwell, a 35-year Reno police officer, said the outdoor camp was by far the worst he has seen.

"The trash is unbelievable," he said. Cardwell has asked Storey County officials to close the camps and is offering to lead a group of volunteers to clean up the mess.

"My sons came out here to hike these canyons," Kleames said. "No kids should be out here now."

For entire story, please visit website.

1,400 Acres in Northern Sierra Protected, Published by YubaNet on Feb 3, 2009
By: Trust for Public Land

TRUCKEE, Calif. Feb. 2, 2009 - Three properties totaling almost 2,000 acres are being permanently protected in the northern Sierra Nevada and in Yuba County, The Trust for Public Land (TPL) and Truckee Donner Land Trust (TDLT) announced today.

The properties were purchased from Siller Brothers, Inc, a Marysville-based family company on Dec. 30. Money to finance the purchases came from a variety of state funds and private partners, TPL and TLDT announced. Two of the properties are near the proposed Castle Peak Wilderness Area north of Donner Summit, and the third is next to the Daugherty Hills Wildlife Area in the Collins Lake Recreation Area of Yuba County. The two mountain properties are also high priorities for the Northern Sierra Partnership, formed in 2007 by TPL, TDLT, the Feather River Land Trust, Sierra Business Council and The Nature Conservancy to insure the environmental and economic sustainability of the northern Sierra.

David Sutton, director of TPL's Northern California program, said, "we are very pleased to have the funding support of California public agencies and the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation to protect these wonderful places. The protection of these properties from possible second-home development is a big step toward protecting the integrity of the proposed Castle Peak Wilderness Area. It's also a major accomplishment for the Northern Sierra Partnership."

"The properties are off the charts in terms of their natural resources and truly iconic landscapes of the Northern Sierra. Any lover of the Sierra should be very pleased that they are now and forever protected," said Perry Norris, Executive Director of TDLT.

Perazzo Meadows, the largest property at 982 acres, is located northwest of Truckee and includes more than 2.5 miles of the Little Truckee River, a primary tributary in the Truckee River watershed and an important source of drinking water for the residents of Nevada. For the time being, the property will be owned by TDLT while trails and a parking area are constructed and restoration work is completed along the Little Truckee River. TDLT then plans to transfer ownership to the Tahoe National Forest.

TPL and TLDT also acquired a 400-acre property northwest of Castle Peak at the edge of Paradise Valley. The Pacific Crest Trail runs over a corner of the property, which was donated to the Tahoe National Forest, which owns land surrounding the parcel.

"We are very excited with the addition of these lands to the Tahoe National Forest. They are rich in wildlife and watershed values. Perazzo is an incredible high elevation meadow ecosystem and we hope to start a stream channel restoration project there this summer, which will encompass the new property in future years. Paradise Valley property is important from a wildlife connectivity standpoint involving a variety of species," stated Tom Quinn, Tahoe National Forest Supervisor.

For entire article, please visit website below.

www.rgj.com
January 30, 2009

By Loretta Singletary, Extension Educator, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension

Introduction

Nevada is the seventh largest state in size with more than 110,000 square miles of land area. Nevada is also the driest state in the nation. The fastest growing area of the state, southern Nevada, only gets 4 inches average annual precipitation. Over 68 percent of Nevada's population lives in Clark County in southern Nevada. Approximately 20 percent of the state's population resides in northern Nevada in the communities of Reno, Carson City and Lake Tahoe. To complicate these demographics further, the vast majority of Nevada (87%) is controlled by the federal government.

Water scarcity is one of the most pressing issues facing the American West. Agriculture, cities, towns and industry are the primary water users. There are more conflicts over water than ever before in the American West. More frequently, these conflicts involve litigation.

There are several competing uses for water in Nevada. These include the use of water to:

Irrigate crops, including hay, onions, garlic, melons, potatoes, grapes and other vegetables.
Water livestock, including horses, dairy cattle, beef cattle and sheep.
Sustain habitat to support wildlife including fish, birds, deer, wild horses, and other wildlife.
Supply water recreation opportunities such as fishing, swimming and boating.
Supply other recreation including parks and golf courses.

This fact sheet describes demographic trends in Nevada in light of its history as a leader in water resource development in the western U.S. Population growth and changing attitudes towards water resources in addition to shifts in federal policy create an unprecedented period of conflict and change surrounding water. This is particularly the case for rural Nevadans including farmers and ranchers.

Population Growth and Changing Attitudes Towards Water Resources

Population in the U.S. has increased dramatically since its settlement 400 years ago. The current U.S. population is estimated at 287 million and is expected to increase to 414 million by 2050 (2002).

Nevada is the fastest growing state in the U.S. with a population of nearly 2 million. The majority of Nevadans live in urban areas including Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City. Rural areas located near these urban centers are growing rapidly, providing open space needed for residential, industrial and commercial development that accompanies rapid population growth.

The availability of water resources to meet the demands of increasing population is a question in the minds of many Nevadans, both natives and newcomers. Nevada remains the driest state in the U.S. and the majority of its water resources are legally bound to its traditional use on agricultural lands.

The agriculture sector accounts for about 78 percent of water use statewide in Nevada. And, statewide, commerce and domestic uses claim 13 percent, 7 percent is used for mining, 1 percent for producing power and less than 1 percent for industry. These figures contrast dramatically with southern Nevada, however, where residential uses account for approximately 60 percent, with 8 percent for irrigation of golf courses, schools, parks and other large green areas, 8 percent for hotels and 10 percent for commerce and fire protection.

Current economic growth in Nevada, however, does not rely on agriculture, in spite of the fact that agriculture remains vital to the economic health of its rural communities. And, plentiful water supplies are needed to support continued population and economic growth. Farmers and ranchers in particular are concerned that water resources may be arbitrarily reallocated if the pressure to support growth in urban areas surpasses the state's history of supporting irrigated agriculture.

...for more information and entire article, please visit website below.

By Adam Jensen / Tahoe Daily Tribune
12/23/08

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — Numerous South Shore projects were put on indefinite hold last week following a suspension of critical payments by California officials due to the state budget crisis.

On Dec. 17, the three-member Pooled Money Investment Board voted 3 - 0 to suspend approximately $4 billion in state funds for an estimated 2,000 infrastructure projects throughout California.

“The PMIB took this action to preserve necessary cash resources to pay the day-to-day operational needs of the state for the balance of the fiscal year pending further PMIB action in January,” according to a letter to state agencies from Department of Finance Director Michael Genest. “If loan reimbursement continues at the current pace, the state’s portion of the Pooled Money Invested Account is projected to run out of liquid cash before the end of the current fiscal year.”

The 56-acre project, Sawmill Bike Path, Upper Truckee River Restoration Project, Bijou Area Erosion Control Project, Sierra Tract Erosion Control Project, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s best management practices program and numerous erosion-control projects along state highways are among the Lake Tahoe projects that depend on bond funding suspended by the board’s decision, according to Lake Tahoe Basin officials.

Future funds will only be approved once the state budget crisis is resolved, according to the letter.

The sudden suspension caused anxiety at basin agencies.

About 90 percent of the approximately $20 million the California Tahoe Conservancy has invested annually in the basin during recent years comes from bond funding that’s now suspended, said Conservancy Deputy Director Ray Lacey.
Lacey remains hopeful the funding will return, but said unknowns about the national and global economy persist, and it is “difficult if not impossible” to sell bonds at this time.

“It’s a little frustrating right now for us. We were given a halt order without any follow-up,” said Cindy Wise, a grant coordinator for the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, adding details from the state about how affected agencies should proceed is lacking.

“I’m sure we’ll get that direction, but we haven’t gotten that right now,” she said.
The suspension affected nine projects administered by the water board, including seven projects in the Lake Tahoe and Truckee River watersheds totaling $20 million, Wise said.

Groups like the Tahoe Resource Conservation District and the Sierra Nevada Alliance — a South Lake Tahoe-based network of conservation groups throughout the Sierra Nevada range — implement the projects, Wise said.

Alliance Executive Director Joan Clayburgh said she was forced to lay off several employees because of the suspension of payments.

“It basically just dissolved our watershed program,” Clayburgh said.

The program included various programs to protect water quality, including volunteer water-quality monitoring days and native landscaping programs at Lake Tahoe.
While Clayburgh hoped the program could eventually be rebuilt, she said she was “devastated” by the board’s decision.

Clayburgh said the suspension of payments comes at a particularly bad time, since stimulating the economy through the development of green jobs has been discussed by government officials.

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