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‘Third straw’: Southern Nevada Water Authority digs deep for third intake pipe at Lake Mead

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 13, 2009 at 9:33 am

From the Las Vegas Review Journal:

“Down at the bottom, the rain never stops. ? It seeps from the rock walls and pours from the 600-foot shaft that frames a clear blue sky. ? Pumps help to stem the tide, but still the water collects, turning this work zone 60 stories underground into a humid, muddy mess. ? When it’s finished in early 2013, the so-called “third straw” into Lake Mead will keep water flowing to Las Vegas despite drought and shortages on the Colorado River.

Right now, though, all this extra water is an unexpected complication for a project that is already complicated enough.

“It’s not your friend in the tunnel business,” said Project Manager Jim McDonald. “Water is always our worst enemy.”

Intake No. 3, as it is officially known, is the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s $700 million answer to a mounting dilemma: Roughly 90 percent of the valley’s drinking water is drawn from Lake Mead through two existing intake pipes. So what happens if the lake shrinks low enough to shut down one of those pipes? … “

Read the rest of this story on the SNWA’s construction of the third intake, which includes a video and slideshow by clicking here.

December 13, 2009 · Filed Under Las Vegas & Nevada

Comments

One Response to “‘Third straw’: Southern Nevada Water Authority digs deep for third intake pipe at Lake Mead”

  1. WaterSource/WaterBank on December 14th, 2009 4:55 am

    Incredible as it sounds, the Southern Nevada Water Authority ( Las Vegas / Manager Mulroy ) is offered the exclusive rights to a new NON-TRIBUTARY fresh water SOURCE of a MILLION acre feet a year that could be economically developed and legally accumulated in Lake Mead to keep Lake Mead reasonably FULL !

    A no obligation FREE complete confidential disclosure that had been encouraged in writing by Nevada Power (which had read the disclosure and declared it to be “definitely plausible”) was dismissed by NV, the Bureau of Reclamation and the SNWA !

    Because of the amount of water available, California and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and all 450 California water districts also REFUSED the same offer to investigate/verify the merits of the new SOURCE for FREE which directly or by exchange could remedy much of California’s water litigation.

    Regardless of whether or not the new Source is acceptable to these entities, they serve the people.

    Knowing full well that a claim has been made that such a vast natural resource exists which can be developed without damage to the environment or the water rights of anyone, how do they continue to ignore the possiblities ?

    The answer: Each claims it has cannot formulate a legal way to receive a full FREE confidential disclosure of the Source.

    WaterSource/WaterBank waterrdw@yahoo.com Retired Water Rights Analyst

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