News Release Archive

Lake Tahoe Dam Holds 100th Anniversary Celebration

Media Contact: Pete Lucero, MP Region Public Affairs Officer, 916-978-5100, 08/30/2013 15:02

For Release: August 30, 2013

TAHOE CITY, Calif. - The Bureau of Reclamation, in partnership with the Truckee Meadows Water Authority and the Truckee Carson Irrigation District, celebrated the 100th anniversary of the completion of Lake Tahoe Dam with a ceremony held at the dam at noon on Friday, Aug. 30.

The celebration began with welcoming remarks by Kenneth Parr, Reclamation; Cindy Gustafson, Tahoe City Public Utility District; and Herman Fillmore, Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. A Tribal Invocation was given by Washoe Tribal member Melba Rakow.

Speakers included Pablo Arroyave, Reclamation; California Assemblyman Brian Dahle; Lucas Ingvoldstad, representing Nevada Senator Harry Reid; Rocklund “Rocky” Deal, representing California Congressman Tom McClintock; Steve Davey, representing California State Senator Ted Gaines; Brian Barton, California State Parks; Elwood Lowery, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe; Mike Carrigan, Truckee Meadows Water Authority; and Ernest Schank, Truckee Carson Irrigation District. The ceremony concluded with the unveiling of a memorial plaque.

Lake Tahoe Dam, part of Reclamation’s Newlands Project, was constructed to control the top six feet of Lake Tahoe, or some 732,000 acre-feet of water. The dam releases water from Lake Tahoe to supplement flows in the Truckee River. In 1981, the dam was listed on the National Register of Historical Places and is now an integral feature in Tahoe City.

Pablo Arroyave, Deputy Regional Director for the Mid-Pacific Region, stated, “The Bureau of Reclamation was formed in June 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Reclamation Act. One of our very first authorized projects was right here: the Truckee-Carson Project, today known as the Newlands Project. And so, in 1903, just one year after Reclamation was established, we began to build the Truckee-Carson Project, which includes Lake Tahoe Dam.”

The dam’s 100th anniversary celebration begins a four-day community event organized by the North Lake Tahoe Historical Society, Tahoe City and the Tahoe City Public Utility District which are also celebrating Tahoe City’s 150th and Tahoe City Public Utility District’s 75th anniversaries.

More information on the anniversary celebrations is available at www.tahoecity150.com. For additional information on the Newlands Project, please visit http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Project.jsp?proj_Name=Newlands+Project.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.

Relevant Link:

http://www.tahoecity150.com/

http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Project.jsp?proj_Name=Newlands+Project