How do I get my garbage collected?
Where can I find telephone numbers for commonly needed services?
Why doesn't SLPOA have a walking trail around the lakes?
What is the annual snowfall at Serene Lakes?
What was the snowiest year at Serene Lakes?
What year was the snow the deepest at Serene Lakes?
How do I get my garbage collected?
You have two choices when it comes to garbage collection. First, many of our members take a "Pack it in, Pack it out" approach. That is, pack the accumulated garbage in a stout bag or two and take it home when you leave. This has some very real advantages for you and for the Serene Lakes environment. For you, it eliminates the expense of garbage pick up. For the Serene Lakes environment, it tends to minimize the number of 140 mile round trips Tahoe-Truckee Sierra Disposal has to make to deliver the garbage to a dump site in Nevada.
However, that approach becomes impracticable if you are staying longer than a few days. In those cases you should arrange for pickup with Tahoe-Truckee Disposal at (530) 583-0148. The company offers both weekly and on demand pickup services with pickup from the curb in front of your cabin. Garbage pickup is done every Monday, including holidays.
PLEASE! If you are going to use Tahoe-Truckee's pickup service and you don't have a bear box, GET A STOUT GARBAGE CAN! Place it in an already cleared area at the end of your driveway early Monday morning. While it may seem reasonable to place your garbage in trash bags and put them out for pick up on Monday morning there are four things that can happen - and only one of them is good.
First, neighborhood dogs will tear the bags open and decorate your and your neighbor's lots with the contents.
Second, bears and other wildlife (yes, we do have bears in Serene Lakes) will come to consider your cabin to be the local smorgasbord. Since they have a poor sense of timing they may return on a day other than garbage pickup day for a snack.
Third, either the county or your own plow service will distribute the bags and contents in the trees on your lot, on your deck and in the street. Not a pretty sight!
Finally, if you are lucky and one, two or three hasn't already taken place, Tahoe-Truckee Disposal will pick up the garbage.
If you will not be here to move the garbage can from the street back to your cabin, ask a full time resident to do it for you or pay one of the services here a few bucks to put the can away.
Can We Recycle?
Tahoe-Truckee will recycle materials left in blue plastic recycling bags at no charge. Material to be recycled doesn't seem to hold the same fascination to dogs and bears as garbage does so, typically, you won't have the first two problems listed above.
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Why doesn't SLPOA have a walking/running trail around the lakes?
While the lakes have some common area or green belt around them (actually, the areas of greenbelt are established by the developer and DO NOT circle the lake) a number of things make constructing and maintaining a trail impracticable. First, a number of streams enter the lake. Typically, the points of entry for those streams are, delicately put, marshes. The construction of a foot path or bridge would be costly and would damage the lake by increasing siltation and infringing on protected wetlands.
Second, the width of the green belt varies from as little as three feet to upwards of 50 feet. A three foot easement is inadequate for a usable trail.
Finally, in at least one place the actual green belt is under the lake. A slight oversight on the part of either the original surveyor or the mapmaker. Come to think of it it would add an element of a biathlon (walk, swim, walk) to using the trail...
As you make use of the green belt areas please remember that, with the exception of the places the green belt abuts public roads, you will be crossing private property. Respect the owners' wishes and privacy. In many cases the green belt is actually part of the parcel, owned by the property owner. The owner is prohibited from building on the green belt but still has ownership of the land. In those cases there may be an ingress easement so one can pass through - that right to pass does not include the right to set up camp!
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What is the annual snowfall in Serene Lakes?
The only official snowfall records are for the Sierra Snow Laboratory in Soda Springs/Norden. The average there is 450 inches per year. Serene Lakes seems to get 15 to 25% more than that. If that impression is correct, we get about 515 to 650 inches per year. Of course, it's difficult to find an average year...
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What was the snowiest year in Serene Lakes?
1937-38 - A total of 819" fell that year - 68 feet! Other big years were:
| 1994-95 | 598" |
49' 10" |
| 1982-83 | 670" |
55' 10" |
| 1981-82 | 623" |
51' 11" |
| 1951-52 | 811" |
67' 7" |
| 1937-38 | 819" |
68' 3" |
| 1934-35 | 661" |
55' 1" |
| 1889-90 | 776" |
64' 8" |
| 1879-80 | 783" |
65' 3" |
Source: "Climatic Summary of Donner Summit", 10/93 by Randall S. Ostenhuber.
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What year had the deepest snow on the ground?
Ah, good question. The year with the greatest snowfall doesn't necessarily mean that it's the year with the deepest snow on the ground. The amount of snow on the ground will depend on how fast the snow accumulates or melts off. 1982-83 and 1951-52 hold the record with 1994-95 coming in third at 192" (16 feet).
Source: "Climatic Summary of Donner Summit", 10/93 by Randall S. Ostenhuber.
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