Watch scuba divers removing trash under the water at Lake Tahoe
The 72-mile cleanup of Lake Tahoe’s shoreline has removed 8,122 pounds of trash so far, organizers said Wednesday.
A scuba dive team and volunteers spearheaded the effort organized by the nonprofit organization Clean Up The Lake. They completed the underwater clean-up of Lake Tahoe’s east shore on August 4, 2021.
The effort came about through a $100,00 donation from Tahoe Blue Vodka, 135 Tahoe Fund donors, including Vail Resorts, and grants from other foundations.
Divers have covered 22.55 miles of shoreline beginning with the cleanup at Edgewood on Lake Tahoe’s south shore May 14, 2021.
The majority of waste has consisted of plastics that impact the lake’s aquatic species. Bottles, cans, golf balls, tennis balls and other items have also been removed.
There have been some unique items, as well. Volunteers recovered an Incline Village property owner’s ID card from the late 1970s, a rubber snake, a geocache box that was found three years ago by another volunteer diver, and a Walkman radio that was connected to a belt buckle.
“Some of the trashiest spots we’ve cleaned so far include areas like Deadman’s Point, full of boat wrecks broken into hundreds of pieces, parts of East Shore where people tend to frequent, and the rocks near the shoreline collect aluminum cans, plastic bottles and other trash that gets stuck in the rocks for decades,” said Colin West, Clean Up The Lake founder and executive director, in a news release. “We anticipate there will be so much more to learn about the way the trash is being distributed underneath the surface of Tahoe as we continue to make our way around the lake the rest of this year.”
Divers will continue the clean-up throughout the summer and fall, and expect to complete the effort in November 2021.
This story was originally published August 5, 2021 at 8:32 AM.
