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Removal

6+ miles of inactive lead-sheathed telephone cable were removed from Lake Tahoe in two phases: from the water in November 2024, and the final section at Baldwin Beach and Tallac Creek in September 2025.

Close-up of the cut end of a removed cable: a ring of wire ends around the sheathed core
The cut end of a section of removed cable.

Mobilization

November 2024

In September 2024, AT&T announced new plans to remove the cables.

AT&T entered a new consent decree and mobilized teams. AT&T engaged J.F. Brennan to extract the cables.

Removal from the water began in November 2024, working from a barge. The marine construction work took 17 days.

  • Removal barge with an excavator on deck and a tug alongside, on calm water with mountains behind
  • The barge excavator lowering its bucket beside a small skiff with a crew member aboard
  • Corner of the barge with its excavator arm raised, and two support boats nearby
  • The excavator on the barge, with a small skiff and crew on the water in front
  • Wide view of the barge, its tug and a skiff on the lake
  • The barge and its pilothouse near a forested shoreline, with a skiff alongside
  • Crew in hard hats and life vests on the barge deck beside the excavator and the curved cable guide
  • The barge with its excavator and curved cable guide at the bow, and a skiff alongside
  • Underwater view of the cable lying on rippled sand
  • The barge in the distance with two support boats on open water
  • The cable visible on the lake bed through clear water, running toward the barge
  • Close view of the excavator and curved cable guide on the barge deck, with a yellow buoy in the water
  • The cable lying across rippled sand on the lake bed, seen through clear water
  • The cable running through clear, shallow water
  • The cable running out of the water and into the sand at the shoreline
  • The cable crossing shallow water and entering the sand at the water’s edge
  • The cable running into the sand at the water’s edge, in sunlight
  • Close view of the cable under shallow water
  • Crew on a skiff guiding the cable up toward the barge excavator
  • The cable held in a chain sling and lifted over the curved guide on the barge
  • The cable rising out of a water-filled pit dug in the sand, with a chain attached and crew at the edge
  • The barge and support boats seen from high above on deep blue water, with a dead tree in the foreground
  • The barge and support boats seen from high above on deep blue water between forested points of land
  • Bundled sections of removed cable with cut ends visible, tied with wire on a plastic sheet
  • Removed cable sections stacked inside a metal container

Before and after

January and December 2024

Underwater, December 2024: the same boulder with no cableDecember 2024
Underwater, January 2024: the cable runs straight down the face of a large granite boulderJanuary 2024
The same stretch of lake bed in January 2024, with the cable still in place, and in December 2024 after removal.
Underwater, December 2024: the same two boulders on sand with no cableDecember 2024
Underwater, January 2024: the cable lies across two rounded boulders on sandJanuary 2024
The same stretch of lake bed in January 2024, with the cable still in place, and in December 2024 after removal.
Opening frame of the Tahoe Lead Removal Project video Lead Cable Removal Confirmation

Video: Tahoe Lead Removal Project

Lead still in the lake

June–September 2025

USA Today and Smithsonian Magazine reported the cables “out of the water”. The SF Chronicle headline read “‘Milestone for Lake Tahoe’: Major cleanup effort complete”.

A few dozen yards of cable remained under the sand at Baldwin Beach.

Ahead of a June 28, 2025 event, a walkthrough of Baldwin Beach with a professional survey company found the cable still in the water. It was visible, in the shallow water where people swim.

Photos were shared with the agencies and the media.

Read “Lead still in the lake?” →

  • A black cable lying in shallow water near the shore, with beachgoers and mountains in the background
  • Underwater view of a black cable end standing up from the sandy bottom
  • Underwater view of the cable rising from the sand, covered in green growth
  • Underwater view of the cable angling up from the sandy bottom, coated in green growth
  • A black cable end sticking up out of shallow water, with green growth below the surface
  • A black cable end sticking up out of the water, with swimmers and beachgoers on the shore behind

Final removal

September 2025

In September 2025, AT&T and its partners returned to Baldwin Beach, where the final section under the sand and in Tallac Creek was removed.

  • A small excavator digging on the sand, with a worker in a safety vest standing nearby
  • A worker in a safety vest beside a small excavator on the sand next to the creek
  • A worker carrying a section of removed cable on the beach, next to the excavator
  • Crew digging in the sand around a section of cable held by the excavator’s chain
  • A crew in safety vests at a dig site on the beach, with a small excavator and the lake behind

The permits and consent decrees are on Documentation, our reports to the agencies are on Submissions, and press coverage is on Coverage.

Thank you

This incredible outcome was delivered by a broad range of stakeholders coming together. We’re grateful to AT&T, their 3rd party partners, the 7 government agencies that authorized removal activities, all our petition signers, and the broader Lake Tahoe community. We got the lead out!

Questions? info@tahoelead.com

Learn more
Opening frame of the Imagine5 film about the Tahoe Lead Removal Project

Film by Imagine5