Those tasked with keeping gritty stormwater from reaching Lake Tahoe are looking into whether the roads are actually a problem.

“Pavement wear” is what Russ Wigart, with El Dorado County, called it. “We completely annihilate our roads on an annual basis,” Wigart said. “Fifteen to 25 percent of fine sediment is from pavement. Maybe we could resurface our roads and call them water quality projects.”