Best Management Practices Program
for properties in the Lake Tahoe Basin

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) has established a set of Best Management Practices, required of all property owners in the Lake Tahoe Basin, to reduce the amount of sediment and algae producing nutrients that get into Lake Tahoe. It is the TRPA's hope that BMP's will help restore and maintain the clarity of the water in Lake Tahoe.

The Best Management Practices (BMPs) are defined as "structural and nonstructural practices proven effective in soil erosion control and management of surface runoff in the Lake Tahoe Region." The TRPA Code of Ordinances require all property owners in the Tahoe Basin to install infiltration facilities designed to accommodate the volume of runoff from a six-hour storm. These infiltration facilities are BMPs.

Best Management Practices vary from site-to-site. Temporary BMPs, to keep sediment on-site when an area is disturbed by construction ane Permanent BMPs are utilized to minimize erosion on residential, commercial, and public service properties.

BMPs are site-specific and are either basic, such as revegetating a bare slope behind a home, or more complex, such as a storm water pre-treatment system for a large parking area. Adequate BMP requirements and correct installation can be accurately determined with a site evaluation by a professional with your local Resource Conservation District (RCD) or the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).*

All property owners in the Lake Tahoe basin need to implement BMPs, whether they own residential or commercial properties. Public service property managers are also required to implement BMPs, however, public lands may be on a slightly different implementation schedule.

All the watersheds in the Tahoe Basin were prioritized for BMP implementation depending on various factors including soil erodability, steepness of terrain, ratio of development to undisturbed land, and relative inputs of nutrients and sediment from the watershed. Utilizing this data, the watersheds were determined to be Priority One, Two or Three.

Property owners in Priority One watersheds were required to implement BMPs on their property by October 15, 2000. Property owners in Priority Two watersheds are required to implement BMPs on their property by October 15, 2006 and property owners in Priority Three watersheds by October 15, 2008.

*BMP site evaluations will be completed at no charge until October 15, 2006.

Click here to see the watershed map of the Lake Tahoe Basin.