Overview

The Dressler Diversion Dam is part of the  Washoe Project and 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.

General