Project Specifics

Geosyntec, with the Desert Research Institute, helped the Tahoe Resource Conservation District (TRCD) develop and deploy a web-based application for data management, visualization, and reporting regarding total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) to improve Lake Tahoe’s water quality.

The Tahoe Regional Stormwater Monitoring Program (RSWMP) was established to control urban runoff and improve the water quality at Lake Tahoe, the second-deepest lake in the United States. However, without a data management system, the RSWMP was unable to easily assess whether its policy and management actions were meeting load reduction targets under its lake-clarity TMDL requirements.

Geosyntec Scope of Services

Collaborating with the Desert Research Institute, Geosyntec helped TRCD develop the Tahoe RSWMP Data Management System (DMS). The DMS is a web-based tool for querying, analyzing, and displaying data. In addition, the DMS allows the TRCD to explore its stormwater monitoring program and produce data summaries that can be used to generate annual TMDL progress reports. The DMS uses data stored in the Tahoe Stormwater and BMP Database, also developed by Geosyntec. Geosyntec also developed an application programming interface (API) for the database used by the Lake Tahoe Info website to summarize TMDL progress and monitoring data for the public.

Key Features

• Interactive methods to calculate event mean concentrations from discrete samples
• Quality-assurance tracking for real-time data streams
• Stormwater-quality data reports
• Trend analyses
• BMP performance summaries
• Downloadable reports

Notable Accomplishments

The project has made managing and analyzing the stormwater data generated by RSWMP more efficient and accurate. Each year, Geosyntec has incorporated new monitoring sites and data sets, vastly improving the program’s ability to analyze and report on trends in stormwater quality.

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