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Waste Water Pipeline Project. A simple depiction of the area. Intake. Downstream. Less dirty water. Wastewater treatment plants release ‘clean’ water. Polluted area. Dirtied water. LAKE MEAD. Las Vegas Wash. The area, the problem.
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A simple depiction of the area Intake Downstream Less dirty water Wastewater treatment plants release ‘clean’ water Polluted area Dirtied water LAKE MEAD Las VegasWash
The area, the problem • 3 wastewater plants release an average of 144 million gallons per day (mgd). • This water passes through a polluted area before entering the Las Vegas Wash • The Las Vegas Wash is a wetland that acts as a natural filtration system. • The water then enters Lake Mead, which is Las Vegas’ source of freshwater. • The drinking water intake pipe for Las Vegas’ water lies 6 miles downstream of the Wash.
The polluted water and concerns • Pollutants: • Perchlorate: rocket fuel from local manufacturing sites discovered in 1997 • Oxygen-rich salt that affects thyroid gland • Thyroid cancer is an effect of overexposure • May cause birth defects • Radiation • Street and lawn runoff (pesticides, oil) • Cryptosporidium • Killed 43 people in the L.V. Valley in 1994
Evolution of the problem • In 1998, Water Quality Citizens Advisory Committee requests the Southern Nevada Water Authority address local water quality issues. • How to avoid polluting and ruining local water supply and Lake Mead (recreation, etc.) • Water Authority vests Clean Water Coalition with authority to deal with these issues. Authority and EPA oversee CWC.
Clean Water Coalition • Composed of the 3 agencies responsible for wastewater treatment entering the Wash. 1 The City of Las Vegas 2 The City of Henderson 3 Clark County Water Reclamation District • Proposed building a pipeline to divert wastewater farther away from the intake.
The pipeline proposal • First proposed in 2001 as a $100 million project by the Clean Water Coalition • In 2002, cost estimates jumped to $1 Billion. • Pipeline to empty south and east of point where Las Vegas Wash releases into Lake Mead. Pipeline endpoint(s) yet to be determined. • The pipeline would require drilling through mountains.
Pros • Better water quality? • Pipeline empties farther away from intake pipe. • Less flow through Wash means Wash cleans its flow more effectively. • Pro-active measure? • Pre-empts future pollution regulations
Cons • Exorbitant costs ($1 billion as current estimate!) • Drilling through mountains problematic: • Time and Cost • Effect on ecosystem? • Noise • Opportunity Costs • Las Vegas Wash • Recycling treated wastewater • Cleaning polluted area
Options • Do nothing • Clean polluted area and make industry responsible • Protect and enlarge wetlands area in the Wash • Build a low dam to prevent sediments from entering the Wash • Create floating wetlands to filter pollutants • Build supplemental treatment facility
Unknowns • Endpoint(s) of proposed pipeline • Is the whole Valley polluted? • Is the amount of treated water significant to Lake Mead water quality? • Results of EPA’s impact assessment, begun in summer 2002
Some alternatives to the pipeline • Clean polluted area and make industry responsible. • Protect and enlarge wetlands area in the Wash.
Facts about the Wash • Environmentalists claim that the Wash’s wetlands can remove nearly any water pollutant that has caused local concern. • Takes only a few months to increase number of plants that “scrub” pollutants from water
