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Peace
Protecting Our Water Supply WHEN DROUGHT CONDITIONS began lower-
tion we have chosen — it’s higher-quality
“With this infrastructure we can now
ing water levels in Lake Mead, the Southern
water for us to treat and deliver throughout
access water from within the full elevation of
Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) initiated the
the community.”
the lake, regardless of the lake’s level. That’s
design and construction of a 24-foot diame-
The deep-water intake, known as Intake
important because even if Lake Mead drops
ter intake tunnel and Low Lake Level Pump-
No. 3, stretches nearly three miles to one of
below elevation 900 feet and Hoover Dam can
ened the operation of the water agency’s two
the deepest points in Lake Mead, sitting nearly
no longer generate power or release water to
original intake pipes, which were installed in
200 feet below the lake’s surface. To pump
states and users downstream, including Ari-
the early 1970s and early 2000s.
water from these depths, SNWA also con-
zona, California and Mexico, we still will be
“We knew we had to build a deeper new
structed the Low Lake Level Pumping Station,
able to provide water to the Las Vegas Valley,”
intake and pumping station to protect access
which became operational in April 2020. The
Johnson explained.
to our water supply,” Johnson said. Adding
pumping station includes 34 of the world’s
With the ability to draw water from any
that water at greater depths is preferred from
largest submersible pumps (link:)that have a
lake level, Southern Nevada can confidently
a water treatment standpoint, “The water is
capacity to move more than 900 million gal-
pursue partnerships to develop new water
colder and cleaner at the deeper intake loca-
lons per day.
ing Station to ensure 2.2 million Southern Nevadans maintained access to their drinking water. “Nearly all of the water delivered throughout the Las Vegas Valley comes from the Colorado River at Lake Mead,” said Dave Johnson, SNWA and Las Vegas Valley Water District General Manager for Operations. “In response to this ongoing drought and water level reductions in Lake Mead, we implemented a number of initiatives to protect our water supply, including investing in the infrastructure that ensures continued access to our share of water in Lake Mead.” Since the drought began, Lake Mead water levels have declined more than 130 feet. Additional declines in the lake’s level threat-
continues on page 3 November-December
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