Southern Nevada Water Authority

The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) is a government agency that was founded in 1991 to manage Southern Nevada's water needs on a regional basis in Clark County.

SNWA provides wholesale water treatment and delivery for the greater Las Vegas Valley and is responsible for acquiring and managing long-term water resources for Southern Nevada.

From its inception, the SNWA has worked to acquire additional water resources, manage existing and future water resources, construct and operate regional water facilities and promote water conservation.

The SNWA is governed by a seven-member board of directors, which comprises one elected official from each governing board of the SNWA’s seven member agencies. While the Board of Directors sets policy direction for the SNWA, the Las Vegas Valley Water District is responsible for the day-to-day management of the organization through an agreement between the SNWA member agencies.

Member agencies

Water supply and distribution

Southern Nevada gets nearly 90 percent of its water from the Colorado River. The other 10 percent of the water comes from groundwater that is pumped out through existing wells within Clark County.[2] Perchlorates in ground water in Henderson and associated runoff into the Las Vegas Wash has been a concern since 1997.[3][4]

Treatment facilities
  • Alfred Merritt Smith Water Treatment Facility
  • River Mountains Water Treatment Facility

These facilities first treat the water with ozone to kill any potentially harmful microscopic organisms. As the water leaves the water treatment facilities, chlorine is added to protect it on the way to customers' taps. Since 2000, SNWA has also added fluoride to the municipal water supply.[5]

Major distribution systems
  • East Valley Lateral
  • North Valley Lateral
  • South Valley Lateral
  • West Valley Lateral

Reservoirs
  • Brock Reservoir which is partly funded by SNWA (400,000 acre⋅ft (490,000,000 m3) of water over 20 years)
  • Burkholder Reservoir (50 million US gallons (190,000 m3) )
  • Decatur Reservoir (20 million US gallons (76,000 m3))
  • Grand Teton Reservoir (10 million US gallons (38,000 m3))
  • Horizon Ridge Reservoir (20 million US gallons (76,000 m3))

Major pumping stations
  • Decatur Pumping Station (81 million US gallons per day (310,000 m3/d) capacity)
  • Foothills Pumping Station (140 million US gallons per day (530,000 m3/d) capacity
  • Gowan Pumping Station (24 million US gallons per day (91,000 m3/d) capacity)
  • Lamb Pumping Station (111 million US gallons per day (420,000 m3/d) capacity)
  • River Mountains Pumping Station (315 million US gallons per day (1,190,000 m3/d) capacity)
  • Simmons Pumping Station (71 million US gallons per day (270,000 m3/d) capacity)
  • Sloan Pumping Station (111 million US gallons per day (420,000 m3/d) capacity)

See also

Notes

References
  1. "Board of Directors". Southern Nevada Water Authority. Retrieved August 24, 2008.
  2. "Water Sources". Southern Nevada Water Authority. Retrieved August 24, 2008.
  3. "Southern Nevada Percholrate Cleanup Project". Nevada Division of Environmental Protection - Bureau of Corrective Actions. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  4. "Defining a Percholrate Drinking Water Standard". Nevada Division of Environmental Protection - Bureau of Corrective Actions. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  5. "Water Treatment". Southern Nevada Water Authority. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
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