Nevada Administrative Code › Chapter 445A - Water Controls › WATER POLLUTION CONTROL › Standards for Water Quality › Section 445A.1626 - Truckee Region: Lake Tahoe

Current through June 11, 2024
The limits of this table apply to the body of water known as
				  Lake Tahoe for its existing sampling points. This segment of Lake Tahoe is
				  located in Carson City and Douglas and Washoe Counties.
STANDARDS OF WATER QUALITY
Lake Tahoe
PARAMETER
REQUIREMENTS TO MAINTAIN
							 EXISTING HIGHER QUALITY
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS FOR
							 BENEFICIAL USES
Beneficial
							 Usea
Livestock
Irrigation
Aquatic
Contact
Noncontact
Municipal
Industrial
Wildlife
Aesthetic
Enhance
Marsh
Beneficial Uses
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Aquatic Life Species of Concern
Cold-water fishery.
Temperature - °C DTb -
							 °C
S.V. Oct-May S.V. Jun-Sep DT
[LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 10.0 [LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO]
							 20.0 = 0
*
X
pH - SU
S.V.
7.0-8.4
X
X
*
*
X
X
*
Dissolved Oxygen - percent of saturation
S.V.
[GREATER THEN OR EQUAL TO] 90.0
X
*
X
X
X
X
Soluble Phosphorus - µg/l
A-Avg.
[LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 7.0
*
X
X
X
Nitrogen Species (as N) - mg/l
Nitrite S.V. Total Nitrogen A-Avg. S.V.
[LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 0.06 [LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO]
							 0.25 [LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 0.32
X
*
*
X
Total Soluble Inorganic Nitrogen - µg/l
A-Avg.
[LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 25.0
*
X
X
*
X
Unionized Ammonia - mg/l
S.V.
[LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 0.003
*
X
Algal Growth Potential
f
*
Plankton Count - No./ml
Avg. (Jun-Sep) S.V.
[LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 100.0 [LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO]
							 500.0
*
Turbidity
c
*
*
Clarity
d
*
X
Total Dissolved Solids - mg/l
A-Avg. S.V.
[LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 60.0 [LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO]
							 70.0
X
X
*
Chloride - mg/l
A-Avg. S.V.
[LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 3.0 [LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO]
							 5.0
X
*
X
X
Sulfate - mg/l
S.V.
[LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 2.0
*
Sodium - SAR
A-Avg.
[LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 8.0
*
Specific Electrical Conductance
							 µmhos/cm@20°C
A-Avg. S.V.
[LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 95.0 [LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO]
							 105.0
*
E. coli - No./100 ml
S.V.
[LESS THEN OR EQUAL TO] 126.0
*
X
Coliform Organisms - MPN/100 ml
e
X
X
*
X
X
X
* = The most restrictive beneficial use.
X = Beneficial use.
a Refer to NAC 445A.122 and
				  445A.1622 for beneficial use terminology.
b Maximum allowable increase in
				  temperature above water temperature at the boundary of an approved mixing zone,
				  but the increase must not cause a violation of the single value
				  standard.
c To minimize turbidity levels in
				  Lake Tahoe and tributary streams and control erosion:
1 The discharge of solid or liquid
				  waste materials including soil, silt, clay, sand and other organic and earthen
				  materials to Lake Tahoe or any tributary thereto is prohibited.
2 The discharge of solid or liquid
				  waste materials including soil, silt, clay, sand and other organic and earthen
				  materials to lands below the high water rim of Lake Tahoe or along any
				  tributary to Lake Tahoe in a manner which will cause the discharge of the waste
				  materials to Lake Tahoe or any tributary thereto is prohibited.
3 The placement or man-made
				  disturbance of material below the high water rim of Lake Tahoe or along any
				  tributaries to Lake Tahoe in a manner which will cause the discharge of solid
				  or liquid waste materials including soil, silt, clay, sand and other organic
				  and earthen materials to Lake Tahoe or any tributary thereto is
				  prohibited.
d The vertical extinction
				  coefficient must be less than 0.08 per meter when measured at any depth below
				  the first meter. Turbidity must not exceed 3 NTU at any point of the lake too
				  shallow to determine a reliable extinction coefficient.
e A density not greater than the
				  values shown in the following table:
Median
Maximum
Undeveloped Lake Front Areas
10 yards offshore
5.0
32.0
100 yards offshore
3.0
15.0
Developed Lake Front Areas
10 yards offshore
240.0
700.0
100 yards offshore
15.0
64.0
Directly Influenced by Streams
10 yards offshore
240.0
700.0
100 yards offshore
32.0
240.0
f The mean annual algal growth
				  potential at any point in the lake must not be greater than twice the mean
				  annual algal potential at a limnetic reference station and using analytical
				  methods determined jointly with the Environmental Protection Agency, Region
				  IX.
Added to NAC by
				  Environmental Comm'n by R160-06, eff. 8-26-2008
NRS
					 445A.425,
					 445A.520