Nevada
Dams in quake-prone Nevada are vulnerable. Near Tahoe, the state is shoring one up – Carson Now
By Amy Alonzo — Dwarfed by drought, the warming climate and other, more immediate environmental threats, earthquakes aren’t at the forefront of most Nevadans’ minds.
But through the mid-20th century, Nevada was known as an earthquake state. While the state has experienced few sizable quakes since then, recent temblors have caught the attention of those who monitor earthquakes.
On Dec. 5, waves of water in the cave that houses rare Devil’s Hole pupfish in Death Valley National Park sloshed nearly 2 feet high after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of California.
Just four days later, a 5.8 magnitude quake struck on an unnamed fault between Yerington and Silver Springs, shaking Northern Nevada and sending objects flying in some buildings.
Neither of the earthquakes resulted in any substantial damage — the California earthquake was too far offshore, while the Nevada quake had its epicenter in a remote area — but they are reminders that seismic activity could result in significant damage to the state’s aging infrastructure. It’s why state officials are proactively shoring up some of Nevada’s oldest earthen dams that, if shaken to the point of breaking, could cause water supply contamination for tens of thousands of people and deadly floods.
Earthquake magnitude is measured on a scale of 1 to 10, with damage starting to be visible around magnitude 5; by magnitude 6, buildings could see structural damage requiring repairs. Nevada experiences about one magnitude 6 earthquake per year, said Christie Rowe, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno, but almost always in a remote portion of the state.
If a magnitude 6 or greater earthquake were to occur in Las Vegas, Reno or another densely populated portion of the state, “there’s going to be a lot [of] impact,” Rowe said.
In the case of the recent earthquakes with epicenters in Yerington and off California’s coast, urban areas such as Reno were “pretty lucky,” Rowe said. “If either one had happened in a city, it would have been bad news.”
Inspections around the epicenter of the Lyon County earthquake revealed cracks in irrigation ditches and collapses on the banks of the Walker River but no damage to roads or bridges.
The quake was also a reminder to officials of the state’s seismic history and the need to beef up some of the hundreds of dams across Nevada, most constructed in the days before statewide engineering standards and made of dirt and other natural materials.
Damage from earthquakes is “definitely a concern,” said Keith Conrad, chief of dam safety at Nevada’s Division of Water Resources.
The state recently received federal funds to upgrade the dam at Marlette Lake, one of the oldest dams in the state. Marlette Lake perches on the rim between the Lake Tahoe Basin and Carson City, a popular mountain biking and hiking destination renowned for its fall colors and views down to Lake Tahoe. Its reservoir, restrained by an earthen dam estimated to be more than 150 years old, serves as the water source for multiple Northern Nevada counties and cities.
The state purchased the lake and its surrounding land in 1963, but now its aging infrastructure, combined with its location in an area of high seismic activity, makes it a “high hazard dam.” Annual inspections of the dam indicate a “high probability” of a breach if an earthquake of 6.5 magnitude or greater were to occur. If it breached, it could easily flood State Route 28, which runs between the dam and Lake Tahoe, and, with a sewage pipe running beneath the highway, damage to the highway could release sewage and debris into Lake Tahoe.
The seismic retrofit being done at Marlette should cover a lot of vulnerabilities that could affect the lake, caused by earthquakes or other events, Rowe said.
“If they know that dam is vulnerable, I’m really glad they’re doing preventative work,” she said. “It’s going to be way less expensive than if the dam failed.”
High hazard dams and federal emergency declarations
In 1915, the state experienced its largest earthquake, a 7.3 shaker near Winnemucca.
But there has been little high-magnitude shaking in urban areas since 1960, the exception being a magnitude 6 earthquake in the Wells area in 2008. But earthquake faults are still being discovered across the state (the Yerington-area quake occurred near no known faults) and there is still serious potential for earthquakes, especially in western Nevada.
In Lake Tahoe, there are multiple major fault lines that run beneath the lake, Rowe said, and the area is considered at high risk for earthquakes. While the state has been relatively free of any large quakes during the last few decades, Nevada has had the third most frequent number of large earthquakes in the last 150 years.
Lake Tahoe was created by seismic activity — earthquake faulting caused a portion of the mountains to drop, creating a giant bowl, and volcanic deposits dammed the bowl on its north side.
About 5,000 years ago, Lake Tahoe’s west shore experienced an earthquake large enough to produce a tsunami — and a tsunami-producing fault in the basin is overdue for an earthquake, scientists said more than a decade ago at an annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
Earthquakes occur every 3,000 to 4,000 years along the West Tahoe Fault that runs from beneath the lake up to the Echo Summit area. That fault last saw a major quake 4,500 years ago. The Incline Fault, located in the northeast portion of the lake, saw a quake of roughly magnitude 7 about 575 years ago.
During earthquakes, concern first focuses on injury and loss of life, said Rowe. But after that, effects to basic services and communications are of utmost concern, she said.
“The resilience of a community relies on the resilience of the water supply and the food supply,” she said. “It can take days or weeks to restore those kinds of services.”
It’s that focus on infrastructure that prompted the state to apply for a $10 million federal grant to upgrade Marlette Lake Dam to reduce the risk of a dam breach during an earthquake. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) agreed the dam, listed as “high hazard,” warrants the work and issued the funding.
Nevada’s Division of Water Resources, the department Conrad staffs, oversees about 660 dams across the state; additional dams, such as those operated by the Bureau of Reclamation, Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Indian Affairs, do not fall under the division’s purview.
Few are concrete or rock masonry dams — most are earth embankment dams. Many of them are part of stormwater detention basins in Las Vegas or are small, privately owned structures used for irrigation in rural portions of the state (nearly half of the state’s dams are privately owned) but some are larger and in areas that could have substantial downstream effects if they failed, such as the dam at Marlette Lake.
The dams are categorized into “low,” “significant” and “high” hazard by how catastrophic their failure would be on downstream residents and infrastructure. While failure of low hazard dams are unlikely to have any substantial economic effects or cause death, failure of significant hazard dams are likely to cause substantial economic effects; failure of a high hazard dam is likely to lead to death.
Nearly a quarter of state-monitored dams, primarily in the Reno/Tahoe and Las Vegas areas, are considered “high hazard.” (The designation does not reflect the safety or condition of the dam.)
Nevada didn’t start regulating dams until 1955; “anything prior to that, we don’t know a whole lot about these dams, and chances are they were never engineered,” Conrad said. When it comes to Marlette Lake’s dam, built nearly a century before the state started regulating dams, “Who knows what techniques they used to build it. There’s a big old question mark on that portion of the dam.”
But the general state of dams within Nevada is pretty poor, Conrad said.
A 2018 report from the American Society of Civil Engineers ranked Nevada’s dams with a lowly grade of “D+” or “Poor: At Risk.”
A separate report issued by the National Inventory of Dams in 2023 echoed the 2018 findings, with the condition of the bulk of the dams included in the report listed as “fair” or “poor.”
“It’s hard to say exactly what the likelihood of failure is,” Conrad said.
In 2003, the state began drafting emergency action plans for all high and significant hazard-rated dams in the state.
“We are kind of ahead of the curve” compared with some other states, Conrad said.
Those plans have been activated occasionally, Conrad said, such as earlier this year at Angel Lake near Wells when cracks were found in the roughly 150-year-old dam. The seeping cracks created sinkholes on top of the dam, complicating repairs.
There has never been a federal emergency declaration in Nevada because of a dam failure in the state, but Nevada has seen multiple dam failures throughout the years.
The earliest documented dam failure in Nevada occurred in 1876, when an irrigation dam across the Humboldt River 22 miles east of Battle Mountain failed, releasing a large volume of water through the canyon and flooding several downstream ranches.
In 1955, an intense December storm dropped between 10 inches and 13 inches of rain in Northern Nevada, causing flooding along the Walker, Carson and Truckee rivers. Derby Dam on the Truckee River failed, and Hobart Dam outside Carson City failed and released water that severely damaged U.S. Route 395. Nearly $4 million in damages (roughly $44.2 million in 2022 dollars) was incurred and one person died.
Hobart Reservoir, also part of the Marlette Lake Water System, is next on the state’s list of dams to be repaired with federal funds, Conrad said.
— This story is used with permission of The Nevada Independent. Go here for updates to this and other Nevada Independent stories.
Related
Steve Alford recaps the Pack’s 78-75 win over Duquesne on Saturday
Steve Alford recaps the Wolf Pack’s 78-75 win over Duquesne on Saturday
Nevada will go into Mountain West Conference play in a four-game winning streak, but the fourth of those wins was not easy.
The Wolf Pack ended its non-conference slate with 78-75 win over Duquesne on Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 7,238 fans at Lawlor Events Center.
In the final 90 seconds, Wolf Pack freshman Peyton White got a huge rebound, then hit two free throws to help the Pack go up by three
The Dukes got their first lead of the second half with 1 minute, 38 seconds left, 71-70.
Tayshawn Comer led the Pack with 16 points, White had 12 and Elijah Price had 10 points and nine rebounds as the Pack improved to 8-3.
Nevada’s Joel Armotrading and Corey Camper Jr. did not play as they are still dealing with injuries.
“We battled hard. It wasn’t our best game but we came through and got it done,” White said.
Tre Guinyard led the Dukes (6-5) with 21 points.
Nevada (8-3) opens conference play against Boise State on Saturday.
Top Takeaways
The Dukes tried to win it from the arc, going 11-33 from there, after knocking down their first two of the game.
The Pack shot 4-of-10 from the arc, and 25-of-56 from the field.
The Pack won it at the free throw line, making 24-of-32 from the line, while the Dukes hit 18-of-20 free throws.
The Pack entered the game leading the Mountain West in made free throws (20.1) and second in free throw attempts (27.1).
Duquesne held a 38-35 edge in rebounding.
Bench comes up big
The Wolf Pack got 37 points from its bench, to 20 for the Dukes, and Alford said that was a key to the win.
“There’s very few games I’ve had where your starters are all negative in points per minute and your bench is all positive,” he said. “It’s good that the starters get to see that. It’s good in learning to trust one another when you’re not playing well.”
He said the bench saved the game for the Pack, but that is a sign of the depth the team has.
Phenomenal Freshmen
Pack freshmen White and Myles Walker played substantial minutes, 23 for White and 13 for Walker. Walker scored five points, including two key free throws in the final minute.
“Myles and Peyton continue to make veteran plays,” Alford said. “That was a hotly contested game, down to the wire and you’ve got two freshmen going to the line in the last two trips and they go 4-for-4 at the line That’s big time.”
He said the pair has been consistent and they keep improving every game.
“Myles has given us a lift every time he comes in,” Alford said. “Those two give us energy.”
Walker said the Pack showed it can win even when things go wrong.
“It showed how tough this team is. Even at the end when things didn’t go right, we still found a way to win,” Walker said.
Half
Nevada led 42-35 at the break, after leading by as many as 15 earlier in the half.
The Wolf Pack shot 17-of-33 field goals and 2-of-6 from the arc along with 6-10 free throws in the first half
The Dukes shot 10-of-28 from the field; 7-18 from the arc and 8-of-10 free throws.
The Pack outscored the Dukes, 20-6, in the paint in the first half.
Up Next
Nevada opens Mountain West Conference play by hosting Boise State (7-3) at 7 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 20).
The Broncos play Saint Mary’s on Sunday (Dec 14).
Finals are over on Wednesday for the Pack players. Alford said they will take that day off from practice.
“That’s going to be a war on Saturday,” Alford said. “(Duquesne) is an A10 team (Atlantic 10 Conference). We’ve played some really good competition, so I’m very pleased with where we’re at 11 games in.”
Nevada’s Upcoming Schedule
- Saturday, Dec. 20, 7 p.m. vs. Boise State (TV: KNSN, Ch, 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
- Tuesday, Dec. 30 at Colorado State (TV: MW Network, Ch, 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
- Saturday, Jan. 3 at Fresno State
- Tuesday, Jan. 6 vs. San Diego State
- Saturday, Jan. 10 vs. Wyoming
- Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Utah State
- Saturday, Jan. 17 at Air Force
- Tuesday, Jan. 20 vs. San Jose State
- Saturday, Jan. 24 at New Mexico
- Tuesday, Jan. 27 vs. Grand Canyon
- Friday, Jan. 30 vs. UNLV
- Tuesday, Feb. 3 at Boise State
- Saturday, Feb. 7 vs. Fresno State
- Saturday, Feb. 14 at San Diego State
- Tuesday, Feb. 17 at San Jose State
- Saturday, Feb. 21 vs. Utah State
- Tuesday, Feb. 24 vs. New Mexico
- Saturday, Feb. 28 at UNLV
- Tuesday, Mar. 3 at Wyoming
- Saturday, Mar. 7 vs. Air Force
First team
Gigi Benoualid, Coronado — The senior finished seventh at the 5A Southern Region meet (19 minutes, 26.3 seconds) and was eighth at the 5A state meet (19:41).
Scarlett Cotrone, Faith Lutheran — The junior finished 11th at the 5A Southern Region meet (19:52.4) and was ninth at the 5A state meet (19:45) to help the Crusaders win the 5A team state title.
Ryen Hughes, Shadow Ridge — The junior finished fourth at the 5A Southern Region meet (19:12.4) and was fifth at the 5A state meet (19:16).
Aislin McMahon, Sky Pointe — The junior finished second at the 5A Southern Region meet (18:54.8) and was second at the 5A state meet (19:00).
Brooke-Lynn Miller, Coronado — The senior won the 5A Southern Region individual title (18:40.8) and was seventh at the 5A state meet (19:19). She is committed to Cal Baptist.
Elynn Okuda, Shadow Ridge — The senior finished sixth at the 5A Southern Region meet (19:16.1) and was third at state (19:11).
Lacy Tippetts, Sky Pointe — The junior finished third at the 5A Southern Region meet (18:58.2) and was 13th at the 5A state meet (19:57).
Sophia Weisz, Faith Lutheran — The junior finished fifth at the 5A Southern Region meet (19:13.1) and was 10th at state (19:45) to help the Crusaders win the 5A team state title.
Coach of the year
Jeff Edwards, Faith Lutheran — Guided the Crusaders to the Class 5A team state title, the program’s fifth overall and first since 2001.
Second team
Jenna Anderson, Faith Lutheran — The sophomore finished 24th at the 5A Southern Region meet (20:34.6) and was 14th at the 5A state meet (19:57) to help the Crusaders win the team title.
Lola Borsh, Desert Oasis — The freshman finished 16th at the 5A Southern Region meet (20:16.5) and was 26th at the 5A state meet (20:26).
Katherine Hodges, Sky Pointe — The junior finished 13th at the 5A Southern Region meet (20:12.8) and was 23rd at the 5A state meet (20:18).
Lacy Mayes, Centennial — The sophomore finished eighth at the 5A Southern Region meet (19:30.6) and was 19th at the 5A state meet (20:05).
Autumn McQuirter, Liberty — The sophomore finished 15th at the 5A Southern Region meet (20:15.7) and was 12th at the 5A state meet (19:54).
Mia Musemici, Desert Oasis — The senior finished 10th at the 5A Southern Region meet (19:47.8) and was 24th at the 5A state meet (20:23).
Belle Parrel, Centennial — The freshman finished ninth at the 5A Southern Region meet (19:47.4) and was 17th at the 5A state meet (20:01).
Michelle Stana, Clark — The freshman won the 4A individual Desert League (21:19.9) and state (20:43.2) titles.
Mackenzie Teel, Sky Pointe — The senior finished 14th at the 5A Southern Region meet (20:15.5) and was 37th at the 5A state meet (20:57).
Julia Vancura, Faith Lutheran — The senior finished 12th at the 5A Southern Region meet (20:01.0) and was 21st at the 5A state meet (20:10).
Honorable mention
Mandi Abney, Shadow Ridge
Savannah Abney, Shadow Ridge
Emma Ansorge, Basic
Maleah Bennett, Centennial
Allison Blazi, Amplus Academy
Kensley Bleak, Lincoln County
Isabella Bustillos-Rivera, Desert Oasis
Ava Dupuis, Palo Verde
Isabelle Franks, Faith Lutheran
Leah Groppenbacher, Arbor View
MJ Gutierrez-Hess, Green Valley
Payton Howse, Clark
Sadie Ivins, Lincoln County
Madeline Labay, Bishop Gorman
Aubrei Lay, Sky Pointe
Selina Leipard, Clark
Ava Levy, Palo Verde
Stella Lin, Coronado
Mackenzie McClain, Sky Pointe
Adalyn Mosley, Foothill
Yalitzi Muro, Western
Elizabeth Neumann, Silverado
Julianna Ondrisko, Pahrump Valley
Sophie Romero, Pahrump Valley
Isabelle Searer, Liberty
Avery Stanton, Coronado
Eliott Stepanek, Faith Lutheran
Amira Turner, Centennial
Isla Ulmer, Coronado
Olivia Wheeler, Sky Pointe
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Justice Department on Friday sued Nevada and three other states, claiming they’d failed to provide requested voter roll information.
Nevada officials, however, said the federal government hasn’t answered basic questions about how the information would be kept secure and questioned why officials wanted the data.
WATCH | What to know about the lawsuit
Justice Dept. sues Nevada over voter rolls
The 10-page lawsuit, filed in federal District Court in Nevada, says the government is seeking the information to enforce the provisions of the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act.
It says the Justice Department asked the state on June 25 for information including a copy of its computerized statewide voter registration list. It said the information could be sent via encrypted email or by using the department’s secure file-sharing system.
The state immediately replied, sending a copy of the voter registration list, including names, addresses and birthdates, but not drivers license information or the last four digits of Social Security numbers.
The department responded on Aug. 14, again asking for the full database and adding “the purpose of the request is to ascertain Nevada’s compliance with the list maintenance requirements of” federal election laws.
The state, according to the lawsuit, wrote back to say the federal government had no basis for the request and claimed it was concerned about privacy of voter data.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare Nevada’s refusal to provide the entire database unlawful, and order the state to turn it over.
In response, Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar said in a statement Friday that the state’s concerns have gone unaddressed.
“The Department of Justice is making sweeping demands of states to hand over private voter data. Despite our simple requests for information on how they’re going to keep this data secure, they’ve given us no clear answers,” Aguilar said in the statement. “It’s my duty to follow Nevada law and protect the best interests of Nevadans, which includes protecting their sensitive information and access to the ballot.
“While these requests may seem like normal oversight, the federal government is using its power to try to intimidate states and influence how states administer elections ahead of the 2026 cycle. The Constitution makes it clear: elections are run by the states. Nevada will continue to run safe, secure and accessible elections and I’ll always stand up for the rights of our voters.”
In an interview on Friday, Nevada’s senior U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto questioned the motives of the Justice Department.
KTNV
“You’ve got to question why DOJ is asking for this information and why they’re pushing for this information,” she said. “Is it really to protect voting rights across this country, or is there some other nefarious purpose?”
Added Cortez Masto: “What I have seen is a focus on immigration, right? And their idea of purging all undocumented individuals from this country, including DREAMers, including those that are married to U.S. citizens, including those that are not violent criminals. We have seen that they are continuing down this path, and they are trying to figure out how to gather as much data as they can to use it against individuals in this country.”
President Donald Trump has falsely asserted that he won the 2020 election, nationwide and in Nevada, where Joe Biden defeated Trump by 2.39 percentage points or 33,596 votes statewide.
Six Republican electors were later indicted for sending false Electoral College certificates to Washington, D.C., part of a nationwide plot to keep Trump in office. The case was challenged on a technical issue, but the Nevada Supreme Court upheld the charges, and a trial is expected in the new year.
An email seeking comment from the attorney general’s office — which will defend Nevada in court — was not immediately returned Friday.
Do you have a question about politics in Nevada? Ask Steve Sebelius by emailing Steve.Sebelius@ktnv.com.
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