Incident Update - Monday, July 29, 2024 - North Tahoe Public Utility District

Placer County reduces health advisory zone and shoreline closure to Carnelian West Beach only

This is an update for Monday, July 29, 2024, for the current beach closure and health advisory zone in Carnelian Bay.

Shoreline Health Advisory zone reduced to Carnelian West Beach only

Placer County Environmental Health, the California Tahoe Conservancy, and NTPUD are pleased to report that water quality tests taken to the West of the spill site show that bacteria levels in recent days have returned to a normal range and are within California beach water quality standards.

As of this message at 5:00 pm Monday, July 29th, the shoreline health advisory zone has been reduced to the Carnelian West Beach area only (5000 North Lake Blvd to 5100 North Lake Blvd).

Residents and visitors are advised that contact with the lake water at Carnelian West Beach could cause illness due to elevated bacteria levels.

Carnelian West Beach will remain closed until further notice, as construction crews will be returning to the site this week to continue restoration of the landscaping and beach area.

Other Lake Tahoe beaches open and not at elevated risk

Placer County Environmental Health officials want to clarify that all other Lake Tahoe beaches, including those in Tahoe City, Kings Beach, Incline Village and South Lake Tahoe, were not impacted by the Carnelian Bay spill, are not at elevated risk, and remain open.

Ongoing water quality tests and analysis surrounding the spill area since Friday, July 19, indicate these other areas were not impacted by the Carnelian Bay spill.

Lake Tahoe Water Quality Analysis Will Continue

Water quality samples are continuing to be taken from the Lake Tahoe shoreline inside and outside the advisory zone. The results have a required minimum processing time of 24 hours. Samples at each location identify the levels of bacteria in the form of total coliform, fecal coliform, and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The fecal coliform and E. coli levels are associated with untreated sewage.

Officials will continue to evaluate the results daily and the Carnelian West Beach health advisory will be lifted or modified after at least two days of data showing that levels are consistently below California beaches water quality standards.

Placer County and the NTPUD will continue to provide updates every afternoon. Additional information about the incident is available in our FAQs page.