Nevada Division of Environmental Protection - Office of Financial Assistance

Douglas County - Cave Rock

BACKGROUND

Established in 1861, Douglas County's boundaries encompass the Sierra Nevada and beautiful Lake Tahoe. Cave Rock, the eroded neck of an extinct volcano, is located on the eastern shoreline of Lake Tahoe.

Romanticized in Indian lore as a sacred place, Cave Rock is the subject of many legends. Named for a cave, a remnant of which can be seen some 200 feet above the waterline, this formation was a landmark on the Lake Bigler Toll Road in the early days. Quarried granite blocks which supported the toll road can still be seen on the west face of Cave Rock, as can the remains of the old wooden trestle. The rock was first tunneled for the construction of a highway in 1931 and the second tunnel was put through in 1958.

A letter of intent for water system improvements for the Cave Rock/Skyland water system was generally approved in June 2002. Two previous grants were awarded to Douglas County for the Cave Rock/Skyland water system improvements: $3,375,120 in 1995 and $1,151,894 in 2002.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Douglas County applied for a grant under the AB 198 program to assist with Cave Rock's water system improvement project. A grant was approved by the Board for Financing Water Projects on January 25, 2006, for $476,089.25 (59.5% of the eligible project cost of $800,150). This project includes the replacement of the Lower Cave Rock water storage tank. The current tank is not large enough to provide adequate storage for the lower Cave Rock pressure zone or meet the requirements of NAC 445A.6674. Inspections conducted on the tank determined that there were no feasible methods to rehabilitate the existing tank.

PROJECT STATUS

Installation of the new 194,000-gallon tank was completed in December 2008 and the booster station (not grant funded) is currently in progress with anticipated completion in the spring of 2008.