LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. — Earlier this month, Keep Tahoe Blue and its partners installed four new mobile, solar-powered watercraft cleaning stations with onboard tools to make it easy for anyone to Clean, Drain, and Dry their gear and help stop the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species in the Lake Tahoe region.
The stations, called “CD3 Outpost Blue” machines — for clean, drain, dry, and dispose — were placed at Baldwin Beach and along the shores of Fallen Leaf Lake in coordination with the U.S. Forest Service and the ExplorUS concessionaire who manage these public lands on the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU). Installation of the new machines is part of a coordinated and growing effort to prevent harmful invasive species from spreading in local waterways. Keep Tahoe Blue strongly encourages all paddlers, anglers, and beachgoers to use the new stations on all their nonmotorized water gear, from kayaks and paddleboards to floaties, fishing gear, and life vests.
“Aquatic invasive species can cause irreparable harm to Lake Tahoe and other rivers and lakes,” said Keep Tahoe Blue’s CEO Darcie Goodman Collins, PhD. “They damage infrastructure, outcompete native species, and can turn Tahoe’s pristine blue waters green. To combat this growing threat, we’re embracing new technology, and giving Tahoe enthusiasts tools so they can help protect the Lake too.”
Keep Tahoe Blue introduced Tahoe’s first CD3 machine, a trailer-mounted version, in the summer of 2023 to help Lake users Clean, Drain and Dry their gear. The innovative devices are simple and free for anyone to use. They serve an example of the organization’s Science to Solutions approach, where research, data collection, and technology are used to directly address the biggest threats facing Tahoe.
These watercraft cleaning machines are increasingly more vital since golden mussels were detected in California in late 2024. A particularly devastating aquatic invasive species, golden mussels reproduce rapidly, can survive for days out of the water, and attach to nearly any hard surface, including boats, trailers, paddles, and fishing gear. In less than two years, golden mussels have spread across more than 400 miles of California, prompting four counties to pass local emergency declarations.
This summer, a boat unknowingly carrying four golden mussels attached to its underside was stopped at one of Tahoe’s boat inspection stations after it had visited waterways near Sacramento. Fortunately, the vessel was intercepted and not allowed to launch on Lake Tahoe.
“Golden mussels represent an existential threat to Lake Tahoe,” said Keep Tahoe Blue’s Natural Resource Director Laura Patten. “A single golden mussel can produce a million offspring in a year. They clog drinking water pipes, damage irrigation systems, foul marinas, and increase harmful algal growth. CD3 machines are a critical line of defense to keep them from destroying our local ecosystem.”
The recent installations were made possible through a collaboration with the Forest Service and its concessionaire, ExplorUS, and were funded thanks to the generosity of Keep Tahoe Blue’s donors. An additional CD3 machine has been purchased but not yet installed. Unlike Tahoe’s four existing trailer-mounted CD3s, the new CD3 Outpost Blue machines are permanent installations. They are solar powered, require no water, and are free for anyone to use. The new units were specially designed for Tahoe, drawing on usage data collected from the mobile CD3 fleet since 2023. Keep Tahoe Blue partnered with CD3 on the project, the Minnesota-based company who designs and manufactures these systems for waterbodies across the country.
“Everyone deserves to experience a clean and healthy Lake Tahoe when visiting their public lands,” said Daniel Cressy, public services staff officer for the LTBMU. “Before you float, paddle, or fish on any waterbody in Tahoe, make sure to clean your gear using a CD3 machine. Your effort will help protect Tahoe for future generations.”
The CD3s are an important complement to other work by Keep Tahoe Blue and its aquatic invasive species prevention program partners, which includes public education programs, signage, advertising, in-person outreach to recreators, advocacy for environmental policy, and boat inspection stations. The inspection stations are operated by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Tahoe Resource Conservation District and have been in place since 2008. This year alone, inspectors intercepted at least six motorized watercraft carrying golden mussels, stopping them from reaching the Lake.
But that same level of rigorous inspection and decontamination is much more difficult for nonmotorized watercraft and gear — stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, inflatables, fishing gear, water shoes, life vests, and more — which can enter the Lake from any shoreline and carry invasive species. That is why the CD3 machines are so important. Since the first CD3 stations were installed, they’ve been used to clean more than 9,000 vessels.
The locations of all CD3s in Tahoe and more information are available at keeptahoeblue.org/cd3.
