Microplastics in Lake Tahoe
Recent research published in Nature.com, included Lake Tahoe among a global list of 38 freshwater lakes with high concentration of microplastics detected.
The Tahoe Water Suppliers Association (TWSA) has worked in partnership with the Tahoe Environmental Research Center and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection to study the presence of microplastics in the surface waters of Lake Tahoe. The study was conducted from summer 2021 to winter 2022 and consisted of eight sampling events of two municipal drinking water sources in Lake Tahoe. Samples were taken from the North Shore of Lake Tahoe at the Incline Village Improvement District and the South Shore at Edgewood Water Company.
Though microplastics have been found in the waters of Lake Tahoe, as discussed in the Nature.com “Plastic Debris in Lakes and Reservoirs” July 2023 article; the association members continue to be keenly aware of and closely following the science of microplastics and the monitoring protocols. They have been actively engaged in removing plastics and preventing more plastics from entering the watershed through public education and awareness efforts. They have determined this to be the best tool to alleviate accumulation of microplastics in the environment.
The municipal water samples collected consisted of two particles of polypropylene and one particle of polyester in 68.44 liters (L) of water analyzed over the study to give a microplastic abundance of 0.044 particles/L.
What this means for Tahoe Tap is one microplastic particle per 23 liters of water, or with average drinking water consumption, one microplastic particle every seven days. A single-use plastic bottle provides the consumer with 94 particles/L.
If you are concerned about consuming microplastics, Tahoe Tap is a better choice compared to packaged single-use bottles. Here are tips on what you can do to help prevent further microplastics in your drinking water: say no to single-use plastics whenever possible, pack it in-pack it out when visiting Lake Tahoe beaches, refill with Tahoe Tap and volunteer for a litter clean up and focus your efforts on plastics smaller than a bottle cap.
For more information on TWSA watershed protection projects and drinking water quality, please visit the Tahoe Water Suppliers Association page.
7/12/2023 (original press release – PDF)
