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Jan 1st, 2014
Third Drinking Water Intake at Lake Mead
For Immediate Release:
n order to address unprecedented drought conditions and provide long-term protection of Southern Nevada's primary water storage reservoir—Lake Mead— the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) Board of Directors approved the construction of a new drinking water intake in May 2005.

The intake is designed to maintain SNWA's ability to draw upon Colorado River water at lake elevations as low as 1,000 feet above sea level. This will ensure system capacity if lake levels fell low enough to put Intake No. 1 out of service. It also will protect municipal water customers from water quality issues associated with declining lake levels.

Construction on this third intake is scheduled for completion in 2015. Once completed, Intake No. 3 will connect with the existing Intake No. 2 to convey water to SNWA's water treatment facilities. From there, the water will be piped to households and businesses.

Begun in 2008, the construction of Intake No. 3 is an enormous project involving a tunnel boring machine chewing through solid rock underneath Lake Mead and an intake structure two and a half miles offshore. More than 1,000 concrete truck loads were transported to the intake site on 143 barge trips.

About the Company:
The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) is a cooperative, not-for-profit agency formed in 1991 to address Southern Nevada's unique water needs on a regional basis. SNWA officials are charged with managing the region's water resources and providing for Las Vegas Valley residents' and businesses' present and future water needs.
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