Security move at lake to protect water supply

Thursday, Aug. 7, 2003 | 11:03 a.m.

In a national security move, people will not be allowed to fish, hike or land boats on the southern two-thirds of Saddle Island at Lake Mead, where the intake pipes for Southern Nevada's water supply are located.

The order from National Park Superintendent Bill Dickinson comes nearly two years after officials at the Southern Nevada Water Authority stepped up security at Lake Mead and surrounding reservoirs after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Although visitors to Saddle Island had been asked on a voluntary basis to leave the area before the order went into effect Friday, now park rangers or private security guards will be able to order them off the parts of the island near a water authority treatment plant, National Park Service spokeswoman Roxanne Dey said.

Those who refuse to leave when ordered could be detained by security guards and arrested by park rangers, Dey said.

"This closure is ordered in the interest of national security," Dickinson wrote in the two-paragraph order that closes the southern two-thirds of the island.

The portion of the island closed to the public includes the Alfred Merritt Smith water treatment plant.

"The north end of the island is still wide open," Dey said. "The order will not affect the River Mountain Trail system."

The River Mountain Trail system loops around the Nevada portion of Lake Mead.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority asked the park service to make formal the order to close portions of Saddle Island to visitors, Dey said.

"This wasn't something that came down from (Homeland Security chief) Tom Ridge and homeland security. It was at the request of the water authority, so that their guards would have the ability to order people away from sensitive areas," Dey said. "It's a matter of national security in that after Sept. 11 the protection of water treatment facilities and water supplies became much more of a concern."

After the 2001 terrorist attacks the water authority hired extra security guards and installed special monitors to secure the lake and Saddle Island, water authority spokesman J.C. Davis said, declining to go into details.

The water authority board allocated $153,000 last year to hire a private security agency after the terrorist attacks to replace Metro Police officers protecting the water supply at Lake Mead.

Wackenhut Security guards man the entrance station at the treatment plant and patrol the grounds.

In addition, Park Service rangers have stepped up patrols along the lake's 110-mile length and 550 miles of coastline.

Davis said the park service order will not result in increased security.

"We keep a very close eye on the national emergency alert status and take appropriate measures," Davis said.

Officials have said Lake Mead is considered an unlikely target for terrorists. The best defense for Lake Mead is considered its size. The lake contains more than 6.5 trillion gallons of water, which would tend to dilute any biological or chemical agent that might threaten Las Vegas tap water.

Local, state and federal agencies have never said that the Las Vegas water supply is vulnerable to attack.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the agency overseeing the Colorado River and Hoover Dam, has kept traffic restrictions in place in the area. Heavy commercial vehicles have been prohibited from crossing the dam since the day of the terrorist attacks. Private cars and light pickup trucks are allowed to cross, although they are subject to search.

Sun reporter

Jace Radke contributed to this story.