SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Lake Tahoe Earth Week’s daily challenges continue with Clean Water Wednesday. In Tahoe, we’re proud of our blue lake, and what better way to celebrate Earth Day than completing these three easy water-loving activities.

Drink Tahoe Tap — Lake Tahoe provides some of the finest drinking water in the world to your home, restaurant, or business. Kick the bottled water habit and drink from the tap. Tap water is better than bottled water when it comes to people’s health, wallets, and the environment. Plus, water in plastic bottles is trucked up, and every bottle left outside breaks into tiny toxic pieces. Those microplastics contaminate the environment in a process that scientists call ‘gross.’ The world’s best water is right at your fingertips. Go ahead, turn it on.

Your Dog, Your Doody — Tahoe is a dog’s paradise with endless trails and cool fresh water, but dog waste is creating big problems with water clarity. Many towns in Lake Tahoe get their drinking water straight from the lake. As a responsible pet owner, be sure to pick up after our furry friends. Remember, ‘If it’s your dog, it’s your doody.’

Clean, Drain, Dry — Everyone loves spending time on Lake Tahoe. Some use water wings, life jackets, and rafts, and some are lucky enough to kayak, paddleboard, or boat. Anything used in the water can provide a way for aquatic invasive species to hitch a ride and get into our lake. If these invaders get in, they can spread, become established and cause drastic and devastating changes. You can stop them if you clean, drain, and dry your watercraft and gear every time. Go to tahoekeepers.org to take the Tahoe Keeper Quiz to learn how to keep these tiny critters out of our lake. 

End your Tahoe Earth Week fun by joining us at our Earth Day Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at Lake Tahoe Community College. Learn more at southtahoeearthday.org.