Sierra Colina Village
P. O. Box 129
Lake Tahoe, NV 89448

Planning for...
LEED* Green Certification
Energy Star Rating
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Moderate Income Homes

Douglas County’s Lake Village Drive EIP #679 Phase II is a plan for retaining and treating the damaging storm water runoff problems created along Douglas County’s public right-of-way (Lake Village Drive/Echo Drive) dumping runoff water onto both Sierra Colina, other properties, and U.S. Highway 50.  Included in that plan is the County’s proposal to locate a private-public water detention basin on Sierra Colina land (subject to Sierra Colina Village being approved by the TRPA Governing Board).

A significant regional water quality benefit of the Sierra Colina project is its participation and leadership in EIP #679 Phase II, which is sponsored and independently managed by Douglas County. The Lake Village Storm Water Cooperative Project (EIP #679 Phase II) proposes to address the existing erosion and water quality problems affiliated with the public Douglas County right-of-way for Lake Village Drive and Echo Drive within, above and below Sierra Colina.

As background, the existing drainage infrastructure in the right-of-way (Lake Village Drive/Echo Drive) has been unsuccessful because existing upstream sources of runoff and sediment overwhelm the system (for example, we have all seen the flooded east bound lanes on U.S. Highway 50 in front of the Lake Village Professional Building during storm events).

EIP #679 Phase II got its catalyst when Sierra Colina invested $25,000 of its private resources to retain Ed Wallace of Northwest Hydraulics Consultants and Nichols Consulting Engineers (NCE) to study the existing stormwater runoff conditions associated with Lake Village Drive and to identify a potential conceptual regional solution to these conditions.  This analysis became the basis for a $300,000 design award to Douglas County from SNPLMA Round 7 funds to complete a design for what has become EIP #679 Phase II. The EIP project design is now 90% complete, and preliminary approval has been received for construction funding of approximately $1,800,000.

The public and private partners in this EIP project are:  Douglas County, TRPA, NDOT, USFS, NDSL, NTCD, Lake Village HOA, Lake Village Professional Building and Sierra Colina.

EIP # 679 Phase II goals are to reduce runoff quantity, improve stormwater conveyance, and improve stormwater quality in an effort to, among others:

• Reduce the volume and peak flows of stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces in the public right-of-way;

• Reduce pollutant sources through implementation of source control measures;

• Provide pre-treatment of stormwater runoff prior to entering pervious conveyances; and

• Reduce the sediment load in stormwater runoff and improve the quality of stormwater runoff to Rabe Meadow, and ultimately Lake Tahoe.

An essential element to the EIP achieving its goals is a shared storm water treatment detention basin Douglas County proposes to be located on the Sierra Colina parcel if the Sierra Colina Village project is approved.  Sierra Colina has agreed to allow the County to locate the shared water treatment facility on Sierra Colina land, subject to it being integrated with the Sierra Colina project design and project approvals needed from the TRPA. Sierra Colina has agreed that: 1) the Sierra Colina Project will contribute at no cost the easements necessary to treat public storm water runoff from Echo Drive on the Sierra Colina parcel; and, 2) the Sierra Colina Project will fund and contribute all costs associated with the construction and perpetual maintenance of the joint storm water treatment system to treat 0.6 acres of the Echo Drive public runoff (as well as the eastern portion of Sierra Colina’s stormwater runoff).  A total of 26,000 square feet (0.6 acres) of public storm water runoff generated off-site from Echo Drive would be treated in the Sierra Colina joint storm water treatment system.

The EIP Project is installing at Sierra Colina’s expense an underground sediment collection vault to filter the Lake Village Drive roadway storm water before it enters the shared detention basin, which will also filter some of Sierra Colina’s own roadway storm water before it enters the shared detention basin. This state of the art water treatment basin will serve and benefit the entire neighborhood (including the Lake Village Subdivision), and should reduce the flooding problem on U.S. Highway 50.  Moreover, the Sierra Colina Project will fund and contribute all costs associated with the perpetual maintenance of the joint storm water treatment system to treat on its parcel the Echo Drive public runoff (as well as the eastern portion of Sierra Colina’s stormwater runoff). Without Sierra Colina participation in this EIP, Douglas County has identified no other location in the neighborhood for placement of this important detention basin for the EIP project.

Implementation of EIP #679 Phase II on the Sierra Colina parcel would only be possible with the consent of Sierra Colina, which would likely only occur if TRPA approves the proposed Sierra Colina Village project.

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