Overview

Basics

Basics
Pipe Keepers is the League’s citizen science program to address the threat of stormwater pollution entering Lake Tahoe. League staff train community members to report storm water infrastructure issues throughout the Tahoe Basin, collect stormwater samples during rain and snowmelt events and conduct restoration events at storm water infrastructure sites. Urban runoff from rain storms and snowmelt is the largest source of pollution that degrades Lake clarity. This information is used to help prioritize the most polluting pipes and find solutions so we can stop the pollution before it enters the Lake.

Implementation
2016
2016
2026
$550,000

Laura Patten (Laura@keeptahoeblue.org)
05/13/2016
02/07/2024
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Location Information Location Notes
Pipe Keepers survey pipes and infrastructure and collect stormwater from pipes found throughout the Tahoe Basin, discharging into Lake Tahoe and its tributaries.

Organizations

Organizations
League to Save Lake Tahoe (League) Laura Patten - League to Save Lake Tahoe (League)

EIP Details

EIP Basics

04.01.02.0027 - Pipe Keepers

This project is on the EIP 5-year list.

Performance Measures

Expected Performance Measures

Expected Performance Measures
Educational and Interpretive Programs Produced [Primary EIP Program: Stormwater Management] 35 number

Reported Performance Measures

Reported Performance Measures
Acres of Habitat Restored or Enhanced
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total Units
Action Performed Habitat Type
Restored SEZ/Wetland 3 3 acres
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 acres
Educational and Interpretive Programs Produced
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total Units
Primary EIP Program Program Objective Program Status
Stormwater Management Education and Interpretation Produced 10 5 4 11 6 9 7 52 number
Total 10 5 4 11 6 9 7 52 number

Funding

Expected Funding

Expected Funding
$550,000
$330,000
$220,000
($220,000 identified as )

Total
League to Save Lake Tahoe (League) $550,000 $330,000 $220,000
Grand Total $550,000 $330,000 $220,000

Reported Expenditures

Reported Expenditures
Total 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
League to Save Lake Tahoe $750,000 $0 $50,000 $150,000 $110,000 $110,000 $110,000 $110,000 $110,000
Grand Total $750,000 $0 $50,000 $150,000 $110,000 $110,000 $110,000 $110,000 $110,000

Photos

Photos

Other Details

Watersheds

No watersheds set for this project.

Threshold Categories

  • Monitoring stormwater and taking action to reduce pollution from stormwater outfalls helps to remove fine sediment loads from stormwater and improve Lake clarity. Data collected helps prioritize the most polluting pipes to target for stormwater solutions.

Local and Regional Plans

Related Projects

Related Projects

04.01.02.0027 - Pipe Keepers is associated with following groups of projects.

External Links

Notes

Notes
01/13/2023 4:25 PM Cole Dickinson The Pipe Keepers original program was not implemented in 2022. Instead of monthly checks on storm pipes throughout the season by volunteers, the Caldor Stream Impacted Monitoring program was adopted under Pipe Keepers. This was a water quality monitoring project that took place from October 2021 to May 2022. It involved training volunteers to collect water quality samples at designated sites in a near proximity to the Caldor fire burn scar. These monitoring events were educational to volunteers in nature and were included in the performance metrics. Our volunteer celebration also included education about the results of the project and was counted as such. We also had one restoration/educational event and Wildwood retention basin.
01/14/2022 9:23 AM Emily Frey *Note: beginning in 2021, we transitioned to tracking the Pipe Keepers program in the calendar year rather than the water year.

In 2021, we coordinated 9 events including three sampling procedure trainings, four water sampling events and two restoration work days with City of South Lake Tahoe, both at the new Whole Foods Infiltration Basin in South Lake Tahoe.

Caldor Fire Citizen Science: Stream Impact Monitoring program -- In the fall, we kicked off a new program to monitor the impacts of the catastrophic Caldor Fire which burned through the southern portion of the Lake Tahoe Basin this year. More information about this program can be found here: https://www.keeptahoeblue.org/our-work/current-priorities/caldor-fire-citizen-science-stream-monitoring

A total of 14 new Pipe Keepers were welcomed into the second tier (the Bluer Tier) of the program in 2021, all via our self-guided online trainings. In 2021, A total of 46 Bluer Tier Pipe Keepers were trained to collect stormwater samples, 25 unique stormwater pipes were assessed and 45 samples were collected during four sampling events.
12/22/2020 1:53 PM Emily Frey In the 2019/20 water year, we coordinated 6 events including two In-Person trainings, two virtual trainings, one sampling procedure training and one restoration event with City of South Lake Tahoe at the new Whole Foods Infiltration Basin. We unfortunately had to cancel our spring and fall stormwater sampling events due to COVID-19 safety precautions.

We were able to continue our partnership with Desert Research Institute (DRI) with their microplastic studies. Five Pipe Keeper volunteers participated in the Stormwater Microplastics Study and 20 volunteers participated in the Dryer Vent Microplastics Study.

A total of 27 people were trained in the 2019/20 water year; six via webinar trainings, 11 via self-guided online trainings and 10 at In-Person trainings. Nine new pipes were added to our list for volunteer monitoring and 38 unique pipes were monitored this water year.
01/15/2020 9:46 AM Emily Frey In 2019, we offered 11 educational and outreach events including five public trainings, three restoration events focusing on stormwater infrastructure, one basin wide stormwater sampling event, one collaborative sampling training with Desert Research Institute for their Microplastics pilot project and our annual stormwater forum in October.

In 2019 we began offering an online training option for the Pipe Keeper program.

Accomplishments to report for Pipe Keepers water year 2018/2019 include: 23 Pipe Keepers trained in person, 25 Pipe Keepers trained online, 40 new pipes in the Basin added to the monitoring list, 23 stormwater samples analyzed, 39 pipes monitored, 23 pipes sampled (and stormwater samples analyzed).
01/07/2019 4:59 PM Emily Frey For 2018, the League redesigned the Pipe Keepers program to focus more on stormwater infrastructure and maintenance, rather than just on the pipe and stormwater samples. Due to the program redesign we were only able to offer 4 education and outreach events in 2018, including two trainings, one launch event for the new program design, and our annual stormwater forum in October.
01/07/2019 4:58 PM Emily Frey This year I added a performance measure for education and intrepretation, indicating 5 programs for 2017 and 10 for 2016. These "programs" are our public trainings, called "Pipe Keepers Intro Trainings" for engaging the public on stormwater and encouraging them to become Pipe Keepers. Also in this number I included our annual stormwater forms, one in 2017 and one in 2016.

Also, there's are no performance measure that fits the number of individuals trained in the Pipe Keepers Program. Accomplishments to report for Pipe Keepers for water year 2015/16 include: 48 Watershed Watchers trained; 14 Pipe Keepers trained; 16 pipes monitored; 398 stormwater samples analyzed. Accomplishments to report for Pipe Keepers for water year 2016/17 include: 69 Watershed Watchers trained; 35 Pipe Keepers trained; 23 pipes monitored; 528 stormwater samples analyzed.