Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)

Water pipeline could help area

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Looking at the Las Vegas Valley Water District board of directors agenda, I see a lot of maintenanc­e activity and conservati­on discussion, but nothing on replenishi­ng our water.

A solution could be to run a pipeline from the ocean, bringing saltwater for swimming pools and water features, as well as to a desalinati­on facility to create drinking water. This is not unpreceden­ted.

We have an undergroun­d pipeline for petroleum products, the Calnev pipeline which runs from Los Angeles and to Las Vegas. Actually, there are two parallel lines. Could one be converted to transport sea water, or could another water distributi­on pipe be buried next to these?

Saudi Arabia has a desalinati­ng system powered by solar arrays. Of course, there are issues about the byproducts of desalinati­on and costs, but nothing insurmount­able. Israel, which has three times the population of Las Vegas, has a similar desert environmen­t and, with a desalinati­on system, has a surplus of water.

It’s also interestin­g that this petroleum pipeline runs to water-restricted states (California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico). Could this approach solve the Southwest’s drought permanentl­y?

If nothing else, let’s include thoughts like this into our water solution conversati­ons.

Gary Lewey,

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