Journal Saturday, September 12, 2026
Mid September: Truckee at Reno at 120% of typical
A daily record of the Truckee basin for Saturday, September 12, 2026. The same honesty rules as Today's Pulse. Forecasts stay labeled.
It's mid September. Tahoe has a recreational HAB advisory on California's map: Caution at Lake Tahoe Community College (Trout Creek), Caution at Site 13 (Tahoe Keys Lagoons), and Caution at Star Harbor (Lake Tahoe). Swimming and pets, not Reno–Sparks tap water. Reno and Sparks drinking water is treated river water, not a Tahoe swim notice. A beach advisory is not a tap advisory.
The Sierra snowpack is only a trace (up to 0.2 in of water in the snow).
Tahoe sits at 6,227.22 ft, 1.88 ft under the legal ceiling, 4.22 ft above its 6,223 ft natural rim, high enough to spill into the Truckee. Pyramid Lake's USGS surface reading is 3,802.04 ft. That is the terminus, a different lake.
Tahoe City outlet 79 cfs; Farad 508 cfs, water 56.1°F; the Truckee at Reno is at 120% of its historical average for this date.
The four upstream reservoirs hold 65% of listed capacity, Stampede carrying most of that volume.
Reno weather: 70°F, 0 mph wind, with air quality rated Moderate: acceptable for most people, though sensitive groups may notice it.
The USGS catalog recorded 1 earthquake in the region over the last 24 hours.
NWS River Forecast Center outlook, not the USGS gauge: the Truckee at Reno is expected to stay near 353 cfs through Wednesday, September 16 at 5:00 AM PDT. Observed flow and this outlook are not the same number. Source: https://water.noaa.gov/gauges/TRRN2.
Reno and Sparks drinking water is treated river water. TMWA's published annual mix is 85–95% surface water and about 15% groundwater from 82 wells. Chalk Bluff is the main plant, 90 MGD. This site has no live tap-quality feed.
Groundwater in this valley is a Story chapter, not a live gauge. TMWA's published mix includes about 15% groundwater from 82 wells, mainly summer peaks and backup. Nitrate, ASR, arsenic, and PFAS sit on Story with their sources. That is not a finding about TMWA treated municipal supply unless a card says so.
U.S. Drought Monitor: worst of Reno, Tahoe, and Pyramid Lake is D1 Moderate Drought. Reno D1 Moderate Drought; Lake Tahoe D1 Moderate Drought; Pyramid Lake D1 Moderate Drought. That map updates weekly. It is not a USGS flow reading.
No active NIFC perimeters in this basin right now. That is a reading, not a missing feed.
NWS. Red Flag Warning; Red Flag Warning; Wind Advisory; Wind Advisory; Wind Advisory; Wind Advisory.
On Story, Independence Lake: The upper 28 ft is owned and operated by TMWA as Reno–Sparks’s drinking-water drought reserve.