TRUCKEE, Calif. — Last winter, volunteer divers braved Donner Lake’s icy waters to haul out more than 2,300 pounds of trash, from everyday debris to what they described as “a submerged living room.” 

On Tuesday, Clean Up the Lake Program Coordinator Jenny Uvira presented the group’s findings to the Truckee Town Council, calling the cleanup effort a success.

In 2022, the nonprofit, which works to engage communities in protecting local waterways, conducted its first pilot deep dives in Donner Lake, revealing heavy litter concentrations in the 35- to 55-foot depth range. The team returned in 2024 to complete a full circumnavigation at those depths, removing litter, documenting hotspots, and surveying invasive species such as Asian clams and crayfish.

The project took 14 dive days and 24 total cleanup dives, covering 3.5 miles of lakebed. 

“This is the most dives we have ever done in Donner Lake,” said Uvira. “It proved to be extremely successful and definitely showed there is more room for cleanups.”

The Marina and Boat Pier area accounted for 31% of the project’s total litter, driven by heavy recreational use, boating, fishing, and shoreline activity. 

The north shore and public piers produced half of the total weight recovered, including couches, a carpet, and a vacuum cleaner.

In addition to removing smaller debris, divers documented 22 large items they could not recover due to size, entanglement, or limited bottom time, including a kayak, a sailboat hull, a stove, and boat engines. 

Uvira said those items underscore the need for a dedicated “heavy lift cleanup,” which would require lift bags, boats, and additional diver support.

“If you’re on a hike and see trash, pick it up,” Uvira said. “Because it will inevitably end up in the lakes.”

Later this year, Clean Up the Lake, in partnership with the North Tahoe Community Alliance, will deploy its volunteer dive team to Lake Tahoe to remove litter identified during its deep dive surveys in 2022 and 2023.