KINGS BEACH, Calif. – This summer, the North Tahoe Public Utility District (NTPUD) will replace and upgrade more than a half mile (2,700 feet) of watermain pipeline and install five new fire hydrants in the Kings Beach grid neighborhood on Trout and Brook Avenues.

Funded in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG) program, the project is part of the NTPUD’s long-term effort to help create wildfire-resilient communities in Lake Tahoe by replacing old and undersized water pipes and installing new fire hydrants to provide adequate wildfire suppression water supply during an emergency.

Congressman Kevin Kiley secured a $1.25 million community project funding award for the NTPUD’s Kings Beach Watermain Replacement Project through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 (PL 118-42).

“We sincerely appreciate Congressman Kiley’s commitment to bring federal funding to action to protect the communities of Lake Tahoe,” said Bradley A. Johnson, P.E., NTPUD General Manager. “Upgrading our region’s aging water infrastructure is a critical component of our collaborative strategy to ensure a fire-resilient future for Lake Tahoe. This federal support allows us to accelerate a shovel-ready project that had been awaiting full funding.”

The project will focus on an area of the Kings Beach community that is currently served by undersized backyard watermains dating to Kings Beach’s earliest development. The new watermains will enhance the neighborhood’s hydrant coverage and will improve available fire-flow from less than 200 gallons-per-minute to greater than 2,500 gallons-per-minute after project completion.

Construction on Trout and Brook Avenues is scheduled to begin on Monday, July 7 and continue through October 2025.

As a member of the Tahoe Water for Fire Suppression Partnership, a bi-state collaboration of Lake Tahoe Basin water agencies formed in response to the 2007 Angora Fire, the NTPUD has significantly increased its efforts over the last five years to install and improve fire-resilient infrastructure, ensure an adequate water supply for wildfire suppression, and help safeguard the lives and properties of residents and seasonal tourists in North Lake Tahoe.

“This important federal funding gets us one step closer to ensuring that there is a fire hydrant on every neighborhood street, and that we have reliable water supplies to help defend our community against the threat of catastrophic wildfire,” said Sue Daniels, President of the Board of Directors of the NTPUD.

For more information about the NTPUD’s 2025 Kings Beach Watermain Replacement Project and the Tahoe Water for Fire Suppression Partnership, please visit http://www.ntpud.org.