Lake Tahoe, Clean Water BMPs, and My Summer Vacation

I work in a world of impenetrable acronyms, most of which rarely get uttered outside of court rooms or policy negotiations. But a few weeks ago, I left the office behind and traveled to Lake Tahoe for a family vacation.

One morning I was flipping through the local phonebook when I stumbled upon an entry I never expected to see in the yellow pages: listing after listing for "BMP" contractors.

Most Americans don't know what a BMP is yet. It stands for Best Management Practices, and in water circles, it refers to techniques that prevent dirty stormwater runoff from ending up in lakes, rivers, and beaches.

Clearly Lake Tahoe cares enough about preserving its water resources that it has turned this wonky phrase into a part of everyday life.

Indeed, every Lake Tahoe builder and homeowner has to follow stringent regulations about how to manage water on their property. The BMPs help them achieve that.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency defines BMPs as "methods to help developed properties function more like natural, undisturbed forest and meadowland." In the natural world, these ecosystems act like giant filters, soaking up and cleansing stormwater before it flows into Lake Tahoe. The agency wants property owners to mimic these systems in their landscaping.  

For instance, BMPs for private homes include planting or mulching bare soil, because this cuts down on the dirt that erodes into Lake Tahoe, and it helps the soil capture and retain more rain and snow melt.  A major focus in on infiltration of water into the ground, as nature would have it-which of course reduces polluted runoff dramatically.

While some communities fight requirements to implement BMPs in new construction, in Lake Tahoe they are being retrofitted into tens of thousands existing properties, including private homes.  When you sell a home in Lake Tahoe, you even have to disclose whether the BMPs have been installed yet.

Seeing the listings in the phonebook for BMP contractors made me realize two things.

First, that the majority of people who live in Lake Tahoe love the area and its crown jewel--the lake--enough to take real steps to keep it clean. They accept that the BMP regulations are a critical way of preserving what they cherish about their community.  Indeed, the community is proud of its efforts--including installing BMPs throughout the region-to keep the Lake blue.

And second, that making a commitment to BMPs creates jobs.

I sometimes hear naysayers claim that regulating things like rain barrels or green roofs will be a burden for developers.  But the Lake Tahoe phonebook illustrates that these regulations actually generate business. They put local people to work preserving the local community.

When, you look at the phone book (you can try this online by googling "Lake Tahoe" and "BMP") what you see is local builders, contractors, engineers, construction workers, material suppliers, and environmental agency employees-and even web designers-earning a living protecting the environment.  Here are just a few listings (I should hasten to add these are just examples not endorsements).

Taken together, the Lake Tahoe BMPs add up to yet another acronym: LID, or low impact development. NRDC just released a report about low impact development. We found that not only can these techniques keep pollutants out of our waterways, but they can also help buffer dry Western regions from climate change and make communities greener, more appealing places to live.

Lake Tahoe is showing us how we can reap these benefits across an entire community. While people who live in the Tahoe Basin may have an easier time feeling a connection with their environment--living with a view of  a Lake Mark Twain remarked was " the fairest picture the whole earth affords"--all of us live upstream from a river, lake, or a coast that needs protecting.  The folks in Lake Tahoe are setting a good example for us all. 

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