Scientists call for action on Lake Mead pollution

Thursday, March 13, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Experts say programs need to get under way soon to begin tackling potential pollution threats from bacteria, chemicals and unknown toxic material in Las Vegas Wash and Lake Mead, the major drinking-water source for Las Vegas.

During a Lake Mead Water Quality Forum meeting in Las Vegas Wednesday, suggested programs ranged from stopping wastewater from returning to the lake to restoring wetlands.

Current practice allows Southern Nevada to draw more than its 300,000 acre-foot share of the Colorado River by returning treated sewage to the lake through the Las Vegas Wash.

But as the valley's population explodes above 1 million people, sewage, surface runoff and ground water returning to the wash have contributed to a witch's brew of substances -- some known, others unknown -- that pose a threat to drinking water, which is pumped out of the lake just six miles downstream from these flows.

The forum was attended by 33 representatives of 18 federal, state and local agencies. The agencies need to define water quality goals, said Bill Burke, a biologist for the National Park Service at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Can the area pump more water, or does water quality need more attention, he asked.

In the near future, signs may need to be posted in marinas and around the lake telling people to swim at their own risk in Las Vegas Wash and Las Vegas Bay as Bureau of Reclamation and other scientists study the polluted plume of water that forms in the wash and snakes through the lake.

Such a decision to post warnings or address health threats is the responsibility of the National Park Service and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, said Alan Biaggi, of the NDEP who leads the forum.

"The forum will not replace the responsibility of agencies to protect water quality," Biaggi said.

Scientists need to identify contamination levels, effects on fish and on people, but what studies are conducted and how depends on available funds.

Biologist Larry Paulson, who has been studying Lake Mead and the wash for more than 20 years, said it's time to act.

"We don't need another five years of studies to tell us there's a problem," Paulson said. By reusing wastewater and restoring wetlands, water quality will improve sooner rather than later, he said.

Paulson also suggested the forum invite representatives of community groups, such as Citizen Alert and the Sierra Club, to join the search for solutions.