Patrol sees drop in old personal watercraft use at Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - The word apparently is out about Lake Tahoe's ban on polluting engines that power older models of personal watercraft.

The number of warning citations issued this year by officials patrolling the lake is sharply down from last summer when the ban went into effect.

''It's way, way down,'' said Steve Antoine, a watercraft enforcement supervisor for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Since May 1, TRPA officials have issued about 40 warning citations - eight for illegal personal watercraft such as Jet Skis and Waverunners, and the rest for outboard motors.

By comparison, about the same amount were issued in just the first 10 days after the ban went into effect June 1, 1999. About 500 citations were issued all of last year.

TRPA's ordinance prohibits carbureted two-stroke engines that power most types of personal watercraft and outboards.

The law is designed to protect Lake Tahoe from engines that discharge 25 percent or more of their fuel unburned into the air and water.

TRPA last year issued as many as three warnings to boaters before seeking fines, but this year only one warning is promised.