Tahoe-Truckee Sanitation Agency Overview

Starting in the 1960s, concerns began to surface regarding water-related issues as biologists sounded the alarm about the water quality in both Lake Tahoe and the Truckee River. A combination of government agencies and public interest groups formed the Porter Cologne Water Quality Control Act for the State of California.

This act required sewage to be exported from the Lake Tahoe Basin, and the Tahoe-Truckee Sanitation Agency was founded in the spring of 1972. Its goal was to bring the area into compliance with the act and to coordinate wastewater treatment throughout Lake Tahoe and its surrounding areas.

Today, the agency is responsible for many environmental protections, improvements, and wastewater functionality throughout the region.

According to the agency’s website, these accomplishments include the following:

• Approximately 17 miles of interceptor pipeline;

• A 4.83 million gallon per day (MGD) advanced wastewater treatment plant; and

• A disposal system consisting of approximately 78,000 feet of underground perforated piping.

A new building with expanded services and resources was commissioned in 2008.