Editorial: Reassess watercraft’s impact on Lake Mead

Thursday, April 10, 2003 | 9:04 a.m.

We agree with the decision by the National Park Service to keep most of Lake Mead open to personal watercraft, a pastime enjoyed by thousands of people. On any given summer weekend, more than 50,000 gallons of unburned fuel leach from the vehicles into the lake, but regular monitoring around the intake valve -- where drinking water is drawn for the Las Vegas Valley -- has not detected any gasoline compounds.

The Bluewater Network, the San Francisco-based group whose lawsuit resulted in a ban on personal watercraft at all national parks except Lake Mead, raises some good points, however. It notes the drop in lake level -- 75 feet -- and says contaminants may not be so efficiently diluted as the drought continues. It also notes a National Academy of Sciences study raising an alarm about the effects, over time, of constant infusion of relatively small amounts of pollution into bodies of water. The park service should be open to Bluewater's criticisms, and do further studies to ensure that our drinking water can indeed withstand the daily impact from thousands of personal watercraft users.

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