Bill would include fed help on wash

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, June 20, 2000 | 11:10 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The federal government would formally join an effort to fix the troubled Las Vegas Wash, the natural filtration system for water flowing into Lake Mead, according to a bill introduced in Congress on Monday.

"We need to stop the erosion, stop some of the construction that is polluting the wash, create a kind of wetland park," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said.

Reid introduced the legislation in the Senate; Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., introduced it in the House.

"Our incredible population growth is severely straining this crucial natural resource, and it's become imperative that we act to save Lake Mead and the wash immediately," Berkley said in a statement.

The wash was once a lush 2,000 acres of wetland, but has shrunk to about 200 acres of wetland. Increased urban runoff from fast-growing Las Vegas and destructive flash floods have contributed to the wash's decline. All of the Las Vegas Valley's runoff, flood water, polluted ground water and treated sewage flows through the wash to Las Vegas Bay and into Lake Mead, the source of drinking water for the area.

The wash, a natural shelter for wetlands wildlife, filters out water pollutants.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority in 1998 took control of the wetlands. For years responsibility had been divided among 28 or more different federal, state and local agencies.

Representatives from many of those agencies formed the Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee, which devised a focused, comprehensive plan to manage the shrinking desert wetlands.

The bill in Congress fits into that plan by directing federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and Agriculture and Interior departments to participate in wash projects.

Improvement projects at the wash have been estimated at roughly $60 million. The bill aims to free up "unlimited" federal money, Reid said. It appropriates "such sums as may be necessary to carry out this act." Projects named in the bill include continued data-collection on water quality, erosion control facilities and water quality improvement facilities.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority has eagerly embraced the feds as a partner, said Kim Zikmund, the water authority's project manager.

"We welcome them, absolutely," Zikmund said. "Not only (the money), but their technical expertise, too."

Several projects already are under way in the wash. Clark County's Parks and Recreation Department erected a $3.7 million "erosion control structure," a type of dam roughly 600 feet wide and 100 feet long, at Pabco Road. The dam is designed to be part of a 2,400-acre marshland park. Two other similar dams are being built.

The bill likely will be referred to the Senate committee on environment and public works for a hearing to mark the beginning of its journey through Congress. It's not clear whether Congress would vote on the bill this year.