Pacific Southwest Research Station

Stormwater Management

Stormwater carries fine sediments, nutrients, and other pollutants from urban areas and roads threaten the clarity of Lake Tahoe. Research projects are examining how Best Management Practices (BMPs) can avoid generating pollutants in the first place and how to effectively trap them before they enter the lake.

Current Research Projects

Projects are providing a more detailed understanding of the specific sources of fine sediments, evaluating the impacts of road management practices on pollutant loads, and assessing the effectiveness of BMPs in reducing pollutants.

Urban stormwater fine sediment filtration using granular perlite

Priority urban stormwater monitoring to directly inform the Pollutant Load Reduction Model (PLRM)

Development of a road cut and fill land use category for the Pollutant Load Reduction Model (PLRM)

Measuring the ability of floodplains to treat urban runoff in the Lake Tahoe basin

Using fingerprinting to determine sources of highway sediment

Sources and transport of fine sediment  (WEPP Modeling)

Erosion of fine sediment from roads (WEPP-Road) 

Road dust control

Potential of flood plains to retain fine sediments

Water quality modeling toolbox for pollutant reduction

Implications of climate change for design of Best Management Practices

Performance of Best Management Practices (BMPs)