U.S. Water News Online
LAS VEGAS -- Clark County officials are making plans to increase the use of recycled wastewater in drought-parched southern Nevada.
The county Water Reclamation District will begin using treated wastewater next year at a park near Sam Boyd Stadium, a switch that could save 99 million gallons of drinking water used annually to irrigate the 89-acre park.
The district is also planning a 10-mile pipeline across the region to deliver recycled water to more parks, schools, cemeteries and golf courses.
Peter Archuleta, reclamation district general manager, said the pipeline could cost $23.7 million and be completed within three years.
Some southern Nevada golf courses have used recycled water for years, and Nevada Power Co. has used treated wastewater to cool its power plants since 1958.
But in the past, the reclamation district counted on private users to build pipelines to get the water.
Efforts to make treated wastewater more widely available come amid increasing concerns about drought affecting the Las Vegas drinking water supply. The fast-growing region with about 1.6 million people is nearly drawing its limit of drinking water from the Lake Mead reservoir at Hoover Dam.
The first phase of the pipeline would include two pumping stations and three small reservoirs. A second phase, extending another seven miles, could cost another $17 million.
Henderson is currently the largest reclaimed wastewater user in the region. It used 2.7 billion gallons last year to water landscaping along the Boulder Highway thoroughfare and nine of the city's 12 golf courses.
The Las Vegas Valley Water District and the city of Las Vegas jointly operate two reclamation facilities supplying about 8.5 million gallons of water a day to 15 other golf courses.
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