Upper Truckee River at South Lake Tahoe
Truckee River at Reno
Truckee River near Tracy
Truckee River below Derby Dam
Pyramid Lake
The Truckee River flows for 120 miles from the outlet of Lake Tahoe in California, into Nevada, through the city of Reno, until it terminates at Pyramid Lake and is the only source of surface-water outflow from Lake Tahoe. The majority of the streamflow in the Truckee River comes from the Sierra Nevada snowpack. Contributions to the river in Nevada are small due to the Sierra Nevada’s “rain shadow effect” which limits annual precipitation in the Nevada part of the Truckee River basin to less than 10 inches per year. The Truckee River supplies water to a diverse group of water users: power generation, municipalities, industry, and agriculture as well as being the primary source of water for Pyramid Lake. The Truckee is critical to maintaining Pyramid Lake water levels and supporting the endangered cui-ui lakesucker and the threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout.
The Truckee River basin (State of Nevada hydrographic region 6) covers over 4,700 square miles and straddles the California-Nevada border. The Truckee River Basin includes the following hydrographic areas: Winnemucca Lake Valley, Pyramid Lake Valley, Dodge Flat, Tracy Segment, Warm Springs Valley, Spanish Springs Valley, Sun Valley, Truckee Meadows, Pleasant Valley, Washoe Valley, Lake Tahoe Basin, and the Truckee Canyon Segment. Major cities in the Truckee River Basin are Truckee, California, and Reno and Sparks, Nevada.
Conflicts regarding Truckee River water rights have been long-standing and intense among various economic, political, ecological, and institutional interests because the average-annual demand for water is greater than the supply. Water rights are fully or over-allocated with respect to annual water volumes. Diversions from the Truckee River, along with the arid desert environment, caused water levels in Pyramid Lake to drop more than 90 feet between 1891 and 1966. Water levels in Pyramid Lake have stabilized although they still fluctuate in response to hydrologic conditions.
One of the first large diversions of the Truckee River was authorized by the 1902 Reclamation Act for agricultural irrigation. Allocations of water from the Truckee River are now governed by the Truckee River Operating Agreement which is a major part of Public Law 101-618, the Truckee-Carson-Pyramid Lake Water Rights
Settlement Act of 1990.
USGS Nevada Water Science Center maintains more than 42 streamflow gages on the Truckee River.
AVAILABLE DATA
STUDIES IN THE TRUCKEE RIVER BASIN
Hydroclimatic-Socioecolgical Modeling Science
Lake Tahoe Science
Lake Tahoe Tributary Monitoring
Lake Tahoe Water Quality Shorezone Monitoring
Nutrient Source Identification in Groundwater and Periphyton Along the Nearshore of Lake Tahoe
Water Availability and Use Science
Effects of Groundwater Withdrawals, Tracy Segment
Evaluating Artificial Storage and Recovery Potential of Bedell Flat, Washoe County, Nevada
Lake Tahoe Nearshore Periphyton Study
Periphyton, a type of algae, is growing on bottom sediment and rocks along nearshore areas of Lake Tahoe. Periphyton is seen as a nuisance and negatively impacts the recreational value of the lake. Periphyton biomass (PB) data collected along the nearshore of Lake Tahoe exhibit increasing trends over the last decade. However, the mechanisms that have caused these changes are not well understood.
Visit the project web page: Lake Tahoe Nearshore Periphyton Study
If you would like information about other completed studies, please email the NVWSC at GS-W-NVpublic-info@ usgs.gov.
Nevada Water Science Center projects in the Truckee River Basin are linked below.
Quantifying watershed controls on fine sediment particles and nutrient loading to Lake Tahoe using data mining and machine learning
Nutrient Source Identification in Groundwater and Periphyton Along the Nearshore of Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe Water Quality Shorezone Monitoring
Evaluation of water-level decline and aquifer properties in the Virginia City Highlands and Highland Ranches Volcanic Rock aquifer system, Storey County, Nevada
Lake Tahoe Nearshore Periphyton Study
Water for the Seasons
Effects of Groundwater Withdrawals, Tracy Segment
Evaluating Artificial Storage and Recovery Potential of Bedell Flat, Washoe County, Nevada
Lake Tahoe Tributary Monitoring
The Truckee River flows for 120 miles from the outlet of Lake Tahoe in California, into Nevada, through the city of Reno, until it terminates at Pyramid Lake and is the only source of surface-water outflow from Lake Tahoe. The majority of the streamflow in the Truckee River comes from the Sierra Nevada snowpack. Contributions to the river in Nevada are small due to the Sierra Nevada’s “rain shadow effect” which limits annual precipitation in the Nevada part of the Truckee River basin to less than 10 inches per year. The Truckee River supplies water to a diverse group of water users: power generation, municipalities, industry, and agriculture as well as being the primary source of water for Pyramid Lake. The Truckee is critical to maintaining Pyramid Lake water levels and supporting the endangered cui-ui lakesucker and the threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout.
The Truckee River basin (State of Nevada hydrographic region 6) covers over 4,700 square miles and straddles the California-Nevada border. The Truckee River Basin includes the following hydrographic areas: Winnemucca Lake Valley, Pyramid Lake Valley, Dodge Flat, Tracy Segment, Warm Springs Valley, Spanish Springs Valley, Sun Valley, Truckee Meadows, Pleasant Valley, Washoe Valley, Lake Tahoe Basin, and the Truckee Canyon Segment. Major cities in the Truckee River Basin are Truckee, California, and Reno and Sparks, Nevada.
Conflicts regarding Truckee River water rights have been long-standing and intense among various economic, political, ecological, and institutional interests because the average-annual demand for water is greater than the supply. Water rights are fully or over-allocated with respect to annual water volumes. Diversions from the Truckee River, along with the arid desert environment, caused water levels in Pyramid Lake to drop more than 90 feet between 1891 and 1966. Water levels in Pyramid Lake have stabilized although they still fluctuate in response to hydrologic conditions.
One of the first large diversions of the Truckee River was authorized by the 1902 Reclamation Act for agricultural irrigation. Allocations of water from the Truckee River are now governed by the Truckee River Operating Agreement which is a major part of Public Law 101-618, the Truckee-Carson-Pyramid Lake Water Rights
Settlement Act of 1990.
USGS Nevada Water Science Center maintains more than 42 streamflow gages on the Truckee River.
AVAILABLE DATA
STUDIES IN THE TRUCKEE RIVER BASIN
Hydroclimatic-Socioecolgical Modeling Science
Lake Tahoe Science
Lake Tahoe Tributary Monitoring
Lake Tahoe Water Quality Shorezone Monitoring
Nutrient Source Identification in Groundwater and Periphyton Along the Nearshore of Lake Tahoe
Water Availability and Use Science
Effects of Groundwater Withdrawals, Tracy Segment
Evaluating Artificial Storage and Recovery Potential of Bedell Flat, Washoe County, Nevada
Lake Tahoe Nearshore Periphyton Study
Periphyton, a type of algae, is growing on bottom sediment and rocks along nearshore areas of Lake Tahoe. Periphyton is seen as a nuisance and negatively impacts the recreational value of the lake. Periphyton biomass (PB) data collected along the nearshore of Lake Tahoe exhibit increasing trends over the last decade. However, the mechanisms that have caused these changes are not well understood.
Visit the project web page: Lake Tahoe Nearshore Periphyton Study
If you would like information about other completed studies, please email the NVWSC at GS-W-NVpublic-info@ usgs.gov.
Nevada Water Science Center projects in the Truckee River Basin are linked below.