Tourists: taking care of Lake Tahoe like it’s your own
By: Jayme Lamm
By: Jayme Lamm
Clearly you can’t visit Lake Tahoe without seeing/experiencing and just overall falling in love with the beautiful blue lake. Coming from the hot humid months in Houston, hanging out and around the lake was a friendly welcome, but one thing that stood out more than anything was the taste of the water.
I consider myself a huge athlete, always running and training for something, so you’d think water would be a natural part of my daily routine, but it’s not. Most places I travel, I’m not familiar with the water quality. Quite frankly, I’m more of a sweet tea or champagne drinker, but after a few sips of tap water, I couldn’t get over how good it was. It’s just water, I know, but this newfound adoration for water got me thinking – the water here in Lake Tahoe is part of the community on many levels and as tourists, we need to be educated on how to do our part to keep it clean.
First, it’s important to note, there’s a reason the water is so good and pristine. It doesn’t happen overnight; it’s adopting a new respect for the land. The town is pretty like-minded, so in the spirit of “living like a local,” here’s how to get on the same wavelength and be respectful when it comes to the lake:
Fast Facts:
There are 63 streams that flow into Lake Tahoe and only one, the Truckee River, which flows out into Pyramid Lake. Unlike most bodies of water in North America, Tahoe’s water never reaches the ocean. Lake Tahoe is 22 miles long, 12 miles wide, and has 72 miles of shoreline, with a surface area covering 191 square miles. That’s a lot of lake to take care of, but one by one, educating one another, we can protect this beautiful national treasure for generations.
As tourists, we must remember that we are visitors here. When in doubt, use this common rule and ask yourself: would you do this in your own hometown?
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