Pacific Southwest Research Station

Application of the stream load reduction tool (SLRT) to quantify the project and reach scale water quality benefits of Upper Truckee River restoration efforts

Principal Investigator:
Nicole Beck, 2NDNATURE, LLC

Proposal [pdf]

Final Report [pdf]

Stream Load Reduction Tool User Guidance [pdf]

2NDNATURE website

Please contact Dr. Nicole Beck with questions regarding the final report.

Project Summary

The goal of this project was to apply the Stream Load Reduction Tool (SLRT) methodology to estimate the pollutant load reductions achieved as a result of numerous individual stream restoration efforts in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Estimates of the average annual fine sediment particle (FSP) load reduction (MT/yr) for seven stream restoration projects in the Upper Truckee River Watershed were completed using the SLRT.

The SLRT generates an estimate of the average annual hydrology and FSP loading to the upstream boundary of a stream environment zone and quantifies the expected FSP load reduction from restoration actions as a result of increased inundation and pollutant retention on the floodplain and reduced bank erosion. A simple accounting method was developed to estimate the urban fraction of the average annual FSP load reduction provided by each restoration effort.