General
The Washoe Project comprises the drainage basins of the Truckee and lower Carson Rivers. The project covers an area in west central Nevada that includes the cities of Reno, Sparks and Fallon, and the Town of Fernley.
The project also covers a small portion of east central California in the vicinity of Lake Tahoe, including the cities of Truckee, Tahoe City and South Lake Tahoe. The project was designed to improve the regulation of runoff from the Truckee and lower Carson River systems. It also provides fishery uses, flood protection, fish and wildlife benefits, and recreation development.
The Truckee and the lower Carson Rivers and their tributaries are the principal streams in the project area. The rivers drain the eastern slope of the Sierras and are fed primarily by melting snow. The flows are high in the spring but drop sharply after midsummer.
Major features of the project include Prosser Creek, Stampede and Marble Bluff Dams, and Pyramid Lake Fishway, now in operation.
History
Irrigation in the Truckee Meadows was initiated by settlers in 1861. Soon after 1900, the demand for irrigation water in western Nevada resulted in water appropriations exceeding summer flows. Agricultural enterprises have been made possible by numerous small reclamation developments constructed by private interests, and by the Newlands and Truckee Storage Projects constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation.
Existing Reclamation developments have contributed materially to the progress of the project area. The natural distribution of the water supply, however, is still a serious problem and a deterrent to future growth.
Despite water surpluses in certain areas, large acreages of farmland receive water only in the spring and suffer severe shortages in the summer months. Spring runoff and heavy rains often cause disastrous floods by the Truckee and Carson Rivers.
These floods damage property, are a source of pollution in the cities of Reno and Sparks, destroy property along the Lake Tahoe shoreline, and curtail production by inundating farmlands.
Construction
Construction of Prosser Creek Dam, the initial feature of the Washoe Project, began in May 1960 and was completed in November 1962. Work began in early November 1966 on the Stampede Dam and Reservoir and was completed in February 1970. Marble Bluff Dam and Pyramid Lake Fishway construction work was started in December 1973 and completed in October 1975. The Stampede Power Plant was completed in 1987.
Plan
Fishery Water Supply
Water supply from the Washoe Project is providing for fishery purposes in the lower Truckee River Basin. The fishery water supplements flows in the river below Derby Dam in periods of low runoff to help maintain stream conditions and augment Pyramid Lake Fishway flows that enable Pyramid Lake fish to spawn in the lower Truckee River.
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