Indicator
Nitrogen Load (Tributaries)
Basics
Nitrogen Load (Tributaries)
Nitrogen Load in Streams
Intermediate Result
Program
Each Unit (number)
ADOPTED STANDARDS:
1. Tributaries: reduce total annual nutrient and suspended sediment load to achieve loading thresholds for littoral and pelagic Lake Tahoe;
2. Pelagic and Littoral Zones:
a) Reduce dissolved inorganic nitrogen loading from all sources by 25 percent of the 1973 to 1981 yearly average; and
b) Reduce dissolved inorganic nitrogen loads from surface runoff by approximately 50 percent, from groundwater approximately 30 percent, and from atmospheric sources, approximately 20 percent of the 1973 to 1981 annual.
The total nitrogen load for each day at each stream was estimated by the period-weight sample method (described below) as the sum of total Kjeldahl nitrogen and nitrate-N loads. The daily values were summed over each water year, to generate an estimate of yearly total nitrogen load for each stream. The combined yearly load represents an estimate of the mass of total nitrogen that is transported by seven streams into Lake Tahoe during a single water year.
This Indicator is reported in the following LT Info areas:
Status
Nitrogen Load Tributaries.JPG
Combined yearly total nitrogen load and total yearly inflow for seven streams currently monitoring in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Data are displayed for each water year (October 1 to September 30) from 1989 through 2014. The yearly load for each stream is calculated as the sum of daily loads s for a given water year. The combined total nitrogen load represents an estimate of the total mass of nitrogen that is transported by seven streams to Lake Tahoe during a single water year. The solid line is the combined total yearly inflow from the same streams, having a total combined watershed area of 350.51 square kilometers. Data is from the Lake Tahoe Interagency Monitoring Program (LTIMP).
Name Options
Nitrogen Load Streams
General

Program Lake Tahoe Interagency Monitoring Program Stream Monitoring

Approach

The Lake Tahoe Interagency Monitoring Program (LTIMP) stream monitoring program was first developed in 1979 to assess sediment and nutrient input from tributaries to Lake Tahoe, and to support research that aims to understand the drivers affecting the transparency of Lake Tahoe. The tributary monitoring focuses on both event-based conditions (large runoff events associated with rainfall and snowmelt) and baseline conditions (low inflow during summer when precipitation is negligible). Up to 10 streams have been monitored since the early 1990s; five in California (Upper Truckee River, and Trout, General, Blackwood and Ward Creeks) and five in Nevada (Third, Incline, Glenbrook, Logan House, and Edgewood Creeks). Six of these streams have been monitored since water years 1980 or 1981. In water year 2012 the number of streams routinely monitored was reduced to seven (see map above), and all streams have primary monitoring stations at or near the point of discharge to Lake Tahoe. Sampling pr

Partners

Associated Programs data not provided.