Pipeline planned to help save wash

Friday, Nov. 30, 2001 | 8:59 a.m.

Treated wastewater could be diverted through a new pipeline to bypass fragile wetlands in the Las Vegas Wash under a plan proposed by Clark County and two cities.

The 12- to 15-mile-long pipeline would collect effluent from Las Vegas, Henderson and county treatment plants and return the water near Lake Las Vegas. Untreated runoff and groundwater has combined with wastewater to erode the wash.

Valley runoff, including 150 million gallons of wastewater per day, has reduced wetlands in the wash from 2,000 to 200 acres in the past 20 years. By removing wastewater flows, experts hope to rebuild the marshes.

The wash's native plants, many of which were swept away in flash floods, act as natural filters of water before it enters Lake Mead, the Las Vegas Valley's primary water supply. The growth also provides habitat for wildlife.

The bypass is a part of a larger effort to restore the wetlands.

There is no final design for the estimated $90 million pipeline project, said Douglas Karafa, support services manager for the county's Sanitation District, which is a member of the Clean Water Coalition. If it is approved, it could be completed by 2005.

The bypass would cross federal, county and private lands. Since most of the proposed pipeline's route runs across land owned by the Bureau of Reclamation, the bureau is leading the study into possible environmental impacts, environmental officer James Green, said.

Two meetings are scheduled next week for the public to comment on potential environmental problems from the project.

The meetings are scheduled 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Sam's Town on Boulder Highway and Wednesday at the Henderson Convention Center, 200 Water St.

A legal reporter will record public comments, Green said.

Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. Dec. 14. They should be submitted to James (Pat) Green, Regional Environmental Officer, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region, LC-2530, P.O. Box 61470, Boulder City, NV, 89006-1470; or Clean Water Coalition, C/O PBS&J, Attn: Carrie Stewart, 901 N. Green Valley Parkway, Suite 100, Henderson, NV, 89074.