8 miles of lead telephone cable removed from Lake Tahoe following years of advocacy

Source: USA Today

Published 3:43 p.m. ET Nov. 26, 2024 | Updated 6:16 p.m. ET Nov. 26, 2024


Eight miles of lead cable have been removed from Lake Tahoe, following years of advocacy by organizations dedicated to its preservation. Over the course of about three weeks this month, AT&T removed more than 75 tons of defunct, lead-sheathed telecommunication cable from Lake Tahoe, which was installed nearly a century ago.

“This is a major milestone for Lake Tahoe,” League to Save Lake Tahoe Chief Strategy Officer Jesse Patterson said in a news release. “We are grateful that AT&T did the right thing for the Lake Tahoe environment and honored that the league could play an instrumental role to keep Tahoe blue for all.”

The removal of the cable was a collaboration between AT&T, who lead the project, the League to Save Lake Tahoe, an organization that protects and restores the health, sustainability and beauty of the lake and Below the Blue, a nonprofit that aims to remove foreign debris from bodies of water.

The project began on Nov. 1 and concluded on Nov. 17, League to Save Lake Tahoe Natural Resource Director Laura Patten said. An AT&T spokesperson confirmed with USA TODAY Tuesday that the telecommunication cables have been removed from the lake.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/11/26/lake-tahoe-lead-cable-att/76591567007/