In 2022, Lake Tahoe was especially blue.
Over the last five months of 2022, scientists measuring the lake’s clarity could see down 80.6 feet. It was the clearest the lake has been since the 1980s, according to a report released by the U.C. Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center.
“It’s encouraging to see that water clarity improved in 2022 compared to the year prior. Yet, a better annual average for a single year shouldn’t be taken as a signal that Lake Tahoe’s water clarity is now on a path to recovery,” League to Save Lake Tahoe CEO Darcie Goodman Collins said in a press release. “The data from 2022 tells a nuanced story and reminds us there is much more we need to understand about Lake Tahoe if we hope to keep – and restore – its blueness.”