After more than a few months of Little Washoe Lake being bone dry, wildlife officials are expecting the lake to continue filling through spring and stay full through summer.

The News 4-Fox 11 Team spoke with the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) today to learn more about how they brought water back into the lake with a diversion repair much further upstream.

The lake has been an eyesore for people in the area and following an investigation by NDOW and partners, they found there are more than eight natural creeks that have been dry from the drought over the past two years.

This is in addition to a diversion ditch, where water is rerouted to Little Washoe Lake from Galena Creek, which had been washed away.

Earlier this month that diversion ditch was restored and water has now made its way from Galena Creek to Brown's Creek and now all the way down to Little Washoe.

This map depicts the system of rivers feeding into the lake. The washed-out Gelena Creek diversion is shown on the upper left side of the map.

According to Alan Jenne, Habitat Division Administrator for NDOW,

This water right that flows through this ditch is a safety pin for it. It provides water flows during the fall, so November 1st is when the water right can actually be delivered. Otherwise, you can't push flows through that ditch. During the summer we cannot make use of those waters.

That diversion ditch was washed away during a 2017 flood, according to NDOW, and was repaired on November 5th, 2021. NDOW is planning on restocking the fishery when levels get more stable and higher with bass, Sacramento perch, and catfish.

The diversion ditch repair cost NDOW around $16,000.

According to Jenne, this ditch lays the groundwork in the fall and winter months, then flow stops at the end of March for natural streams to keep the lake full year-round.

A full lake didn't happen, said Jenne, with the drought we have been in and no groundwork being laid due to the washout's impact on the drain.

With ducks now in a row, Jenne said the lake should be full through summer.

But prevention gets tricky, the ditch company involved will continue to monitor the diversion ditch's flow. However, Jenne said to repair a problem the company needs funds, which are given by who owns the water rights on the system.

This gets complicated due to urbanization and subdividing of lands -- so repair just doesn't always get done when it is supposed, said Jenne.