Cooperation urged to clean wash

Tuesday, June 2, 1998 | 9:50 a.m.

Cleaning up and restoring the Las Vegas Wash should become a priority, the Southern Nevada Strategic Planning Authority says.

The 21-member panel appointed by the Legislature said Clark County agencies should begin cooperating immediately on the project. The panel, meeting Monday at the Clark County Government Center, said future deals to bring more water to Southern Nevada may hinge on the efforts locally to restore the wash.

"We need the wash cleaned up as a political issue," Richard Bunker, chairman of the Colorado River Commission, said. The agency is negotiating with California and Arizona for a larger share of Colorado River water.

The Las Vegas Wash once acted as a natural filter, draining waste water from the Las Vegas Valley before it went into Lake Mead. In recent years, however, owing to growth and development, much of the wetlands have vanished, thereby allowing contaminated water direct access to Southern Nevada's primary source of drinking water.

The panel Monday also formally endorsed a quarter-cent sales tax increase to help pay for water system improvements, expected to reach $3 billion.