Las Vegas Water Supply Has Improved After a Water Crisis

LAS VEGAS – After a water crisis that lasted for months, Las Vegas’s water supply is getting better. In August, city officials said there were only 40 days left of clean drinking water. This was the first sign that the city was in trouble.

After the biggest fire in the state’s history, debris and ash ran into the Gallinas river because of heavy monsoon rains. The city was about to run out of clean water to drink, but a pre-treatment system was helping. “A temporary pretreatment system has been put in place at the bottom of Storrie Dam. Where we are taking the ash and sediment out of the water, pumping it back up to Peterson and Bradner, and treating it again at the drinking water plant,” said Jay Lazarus, a hydrogeologist with Glorieta GL Science.

By filtering out the trash in the Gallinas River and Storrie Lake, drinking water is finally being made. “Now that the monsoons are over, the water in the river is back to where it was before the fire,” said Lazarus.

At the moment, the temporary water filtration system cleans 1.4 million gallons of water every day. However, this is only a short-term solution. The city is working to build a more permanent structure upstream that will make more water. That system could help everyone in Las Vegas and the towns around it get clean water. Las Vegas Mayor Louie Trujillo said, “When everything is done, I think Las Vegas will be the center of water technology in New Mexico.”

For the permanent water shed treatment facility, the city has asked for more than $100 million from the state and the federal government.

Credits: KRQE