Total maximum daily loads or TMDLs are an assessment of the amount of pollutant a waterbody can receive and not violate water quality standards. A TMDL determines how much pollutant load a lake or stream can assimilate. TMDLs take into account pollution from all sources, including discharges from sewage treatment facilities and industry; runoff from farms, forests and urban areas; and natural sources.

TMDLs provide a way to integrate the management of both point and nonpoint sources of pollution through the establishment of wasteload allocations (WLA) for point source discharges and load allocations (LA) for nonpoint sources of pollution.

NDEP is required by Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) to identify and prioritize those waters for which Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) are needed. When a TMDL is developed, the draft is noticed for public comment. After making any appropriate modifications in response to public comment, the TMDL is sent to the United States Environmental Protection Agency for approval. Once approved, the TMDL is implemented through existing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for point source discharges and voluntary nonpoint source control programs, to achieve the necessary pollutant reductions.

Additional TMDL Information

Lake Tahoe TMDL and more

Draft TMDLs Reports Currently available for public comment — None at this time

TMDLs submitted to EPA for approval — None at this time

Approved TMDLs

Waterbody Parameters Documents

Bryant Creek

Arsenic, Iron, Nickel, Turbidity, TSS

Bryant Creek TMDL, 2003


Carson River

Carson River: Phase I Total Maximum Daily Loads for Total Phosphorus (Adobe File 50 Pages — 1.43MB -

Response to Comments on Carson River: June 2005 (Adobe File 6 Pages)

Carson River: Total Maximum Daily Loads for Total Suspended Solids and Turbidity - FINAL Approved by EPA: September 25, 2007
53 Pages, Adobe file 1.8MB


East Owyhee River and Mill Creek

Cd, Cu, DO, Fe, pH, TP, Temperature,TDS, TDS, Turbidity

Total Maximum Daily Loads for East Fork Owyhee River and Mill Creek, 2005 (68 Pages - 1.7MB)

Humboldt River

TDS, TP, TSS

208 Plan for Non-Designated Areas, NDEP, 1993 -- Excerpt from 208 Plan


Las Vegas Wash

Ammonia, TP

Rationale and Calculations for TMDLs and WLAs for Las Vegas Bay, NDEP, 1998

Evaluation of TMDLs for Las Vegas Wash, 2003


Truckee River

TDS, TN, TP

Truckee River Final TMDLs and WLAs, NDEP, 1994

Truckee River Case Study, 1994


Virgin River

Boron

Lower Virgin River - Boron TMDLs, NDEP, 2002 (0.9 MB)


Walker River

TSS

208 Plan for Non-Designated Areas, NDEP, 1993 (Excerpt from 208 Plan) (1.6 MB)


Walker Lake

TDS

Walker Lake TMDL, 2005 (24 Pages - 550KB)

TN = Total Nitrogen
TP = Total Phosphorus
TDS = Total Dissolved Solids
TSS = Total Suspended Solids
BOD = Biochemical Oxygen Demand
NO3 = Nitrate
PO4 = Phosphate
Cd = Cadmium
Cu = Copper
DO = Dissolved Oxygen
Fe = Iron

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