Engineering

Overview

Engineering is charged with the task of safeguarding life, health, property, and public welfare through review, design, bid and construction of public improvement projects constructed on City property and within the City’s right-of-way.

The Division is also responsible for implementing water quality programs to reduce the pollutant loads which flow into, and are discharged from the City’s storm water infrastructure to Lake Tahoe.

The Department provides the following core services:

Capital Improvement Program

The Engineering Division is responsible for implementation of the City’s adopted five year Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which consists of a variety of projects to construct, maintain, repair, and rehabilitate the City’s infrastructure, facilities, and specialized equipment.

Capital Improvement Projects are defined as one time projects that are not maintenance related, having assets of significant value generally over $50,000, with an expected useful life of five or more years.

Environmental Improvement Program

The Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) is a cooperative effort to preserve, restore and enhance the unique natural and human environment of the Lake Tahoe Region. The EIP program defines restoration needs for attaining environmental goals or thresholds and, through a substantial investment of resources, increases the pace at which the thresholds will be attained. Key to this strategy is reliance upon partnerships with all sectors of the community, including the private sector, local, state and federal government.

The EIP was initiated following the first Lake Tahoe Environmental Summit in 1997. Since its inception, over one billion dollars have been invested in projects to attain various environmental thresholds, including enhancing the clarity of Lake Tahoe.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is responsible for treating stormwater runoff from City-owned property and from the City’s public right-of-way (streets). EIP funded public improvement projects focus on infiltrating excess runoff generated from paved surfaces, stabilizing road shoulder sediment sources, removing sediment from roadways through drainage systems, and trapping fine sediment and other pollutants carried in storm water runoff in treatment basins and other devices.

For more information on current EIP Projects, visit the Environmental Improvement Projects (EIP) page

Stormwater Program

The City’s Stormwater Management Program works to control and reduce the discharge of fine sediment, nutrients, and other pollutants from private lands and City streets and facilities into our streams and beaches along the Lake Tahoe shoreline.

Land surfaces which are covered by buildings and pavement don’t allow rain and snowmelt to soak into the ground. The increased runoff discharges into storm drain systems and carries increased amounts of sediment, nutrients, pesticides, salts, automotive fluids, oils and pet wastes into local surface waters. The increased pollutant loads of fine sediment particles and nutrients carried in urban runoff have been confirmed to be the major cause of the loss of clarity in Lake Tahoe.