Chemical clears way for de-icing
Additive will help Mount Charleston water
With winter on the way, Clark County officials have settled on a way to clear snow and ice from the roads on Mount Charleston without endangering the water used by residents.
The Las Vegas Valley Water District, which operates the water system in Kyle Canyon, has begun adding an anti-corrosion agent to the well serving the Rainbow Subdivision to counteract the effects of de-icing salts that are washing off the roads and into the water supply.
The county says the move will allow road crews to keep using salt to clear away ice and keep traffic moving safely.
Chloride levels in the Rainbow Subdivision’s water well have spiked in recent years, making the water more corrosive and causing lead to leach from old plumbing fixtures in some mountain homes. The water district discovered the problem earlier this year when water samples from three homes tested positive for lead above federal safety limits.
That prompted the district to send out an alert to all of its roughly 400 customers on Mount Charleston.
No lead was found in the water at Lundy Elementary School in Kyle Canyon, but subsequent testing at 134 residences in the area identified two more homes with levels of the toxic metal above the federal limit, said water district spokesman Bronson Mack.
The district began treating Rainbow well water last week with zinc orthophosphate, a “corrosion inhibitor” designed to balance out the chloride, Mack said.
The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection signed off on the new treatment process. “It is the same product we use in the Las Vegas Valley to keep the water safe for 2 million residents and 40 million annual visitors,” Mack said.
In response to the lead scare, the Nevada Department of Transportation announced it would no longer use a salt-based product called Ice-slicer on the highway uphill — and upstream — from the Rainbow Subdivision.
County road officials also considered discontinuing the use of road salts but opted against the idea after the water district decided to add anti-corrosive chemical to the well.
“Following discussions with the
Mt. Charleston Fire Department and Metro Police, the county will continue to maintain the roads on the moun
WATER
for his memoir “The Other Side of Infamy.” He is attending the National Finals Rodeo, and the Las Vegas City Council recognized Downing at its meeting Wednesday.
After narrowly escaping the low-flying Japanese plane’s gunfire on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Downing set off for his ship. He slid down the gun barrel of the neighboring Tennessee, to reach the West Virginia’s deck. Most of the surviving crew had evacuated, and flames were threatening the live ammunition, he said in an interview Tuesday with the Review-journal.
Downing grabbed a fire hose and took aim, alternating its spray among the most vulnerable areas.
More than 2,400 Americans were killed in the attack that vaulted the United States into World War II.
Downing began to notice all of the victims lying around him on the ship. They wore tags and were easy to identify, so Downing went from man to man, memorizing their names, so he could write home to their parents.
Between the dead and a group of wounded men who dictated to Downing messages to send their parents, Downing estimates he sent 40 to 50 letters to families.
As another wave of Japanese planes roared over Pearl Harbor, Downing said he felt an overwhelming sense of peace and his “conversation with God was, ‘I’ll see you in a minute.’”
Downing is left with three distinct images of Pearl Harbor: a tropical paradise during peacetime, a naval base under attack and today: a forever-changed Hawaiian harbor. The permanent image for Downing is of the attack, he said.
Secret to long life?
In 1952, during the Korean War, Downing was assigned to captain the USS Patapsco, a fuel tanker.
Two years later, he and his crew were making their way through the Pacific for a fuel delivery in the Marshall Islands, about 190 miles west of the Bikini Atoll, where the United States was testing nuclear weapons. A senior officer told Downing to turn around immediately.
Downing’s ship passed the atoll the next morning, combating rough seas that hampered its speed. The next day, when the United States detonated a bomb there, the radioactive material blew west toward Downing’s ship.
When the centenarian thinks about the longevity of his life, he reflects on a later visit to the VA, after his ship was exposed to radioactive material.
“They said, ‘As healthy as you are, we ought to do this to everybody,’” Downing said.
But his secret to long life may be more basic.
Downing has cousins who lived to 103 and 105, and a grandfather who lived into his mid-90s at a time when most people lived into their 70s.
“We’ve got some good genes,” Downing said.
Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @Jamiemunksrj on Twitter.