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November 8, 2009

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Three-day event focuses on Tahoe’s future

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 1999 | 9:34 a.m.

"Tahoe - The Jewel of the Sierra" is the centerpiece topic of the Nevada Water Resources Association's 54th annual conference, which opened Tuesday.

The majority of the three-day event is dedicated to Lake Tahoe, a natural wonder facing serious threats due to the impact of man.

Controversy ranging from gasoline pollution caused by Jet Skis to the continuing loss of Tahoe's clarity from algae growth prompted the association to target Tahoe for this year's conference, said Donna Bloom, the association's executive director.

"With all the focus and all the research concerning Tahoe we thought it was a hot topic," Bloom said. "It's a primary source for a lot of our water and it's a No. 1 priority."

Topics being addressed in panel discussions range from Tahoe's political situation following President Clinton's 1997 Tahoe forum to an emerging cooperation among scientists studying the lake's ecological ills.

Participants also are discussing Tahoe's groundwater, including problems with the controversial fuel additive MTBE. The suspected carcinogen has seeped from leaking gasoline storage tanks and into South Lake Tahoe's groundwater aquifer, forcing closure of many drinking water wells.

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