Environmental Health and Protection Commons^™

Interagency Lake Mead And Las Vegas Wash Monitoring Program: Standard Operating Procedures Manual, Bureau Of Reclamation, City Of Henderson Water Reclamation Facility, City Of Las Vegas Water Pollution Control Facility, Clark County Sanitation District, Nevada, Southern Nevada Water Authority

Publications (WR)

A number of agencies sample Lake Mead and the Las Vegas Wash on a routine basis at several locations. In order to share and properly interpret the data, the Bureau of Reclamation, Southern Nevada Water Authority and the three Wastewater Treatment Facilities (City of Las Vegas, Clark County Sanitation District and City of Henderson) formed a committee to examine sampling and analytical protocols and to share information with the goal of maximizing the data quality. The group first met in April 1997.

It was agreed that an effort should be made to discuss and compare specific sampling and analytical techniques …

Las Vegas Wash Water Quality Monitoring Program: 1996 Report Of Findings, Richard A. Roline, James J. Sartoris, U.S. Bureau Of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey

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Las Vegas Wash, a natural wash east of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, carries stormwater, groundwater drainage, and sewage effluent from three sewage treatment plants to Lake Mead. The Wash provides nearly the only surface water outlet for the entire 2,193 mi² of Las Vegas Valley. A drainage area of 1,586 mi² contributes directly to the Wash through surface flow which is channeled to Las Vegas Bay of Lake Mead, while drainage of the remaining 607 mi² is presumably subsurface and may drain toward Las Vegas Wash.

In the 1930's and 1940's, sewage treatment plants were …

Nutrient Limitation In A Southwestern Desert Reservoir: Eutrophication Of Las Vegas Bay, Lake Mead, Nevada, Davine M. Lieberman

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Algal bioassay tests were conducted with Selenastrum capricornutum and natural algae on inner Las Vegas Bay, Lake Mead, Nevada, from December 1992 through September 1993, to identify any nutrient limitation in an area of the reservoir that has experienced problems associated with severe nutrient enrichment. Three areas were sampled based on a gradient of water quality conditions that existed in Las Vegas Bay (LVB). Disodium ethylenedinitrilotetraacetate (EDTA) significantly stimulated algal growth compared to non-EDTA treatment. Algal bioassays indicated that phosphorus (P) was the primary limiting nutrient at all stations for most of the test dates. Chl a response with EDTA …

Characterization Of The Aquatic Environment In Lake Mead Near The Proposed Spring Canyon Pumped-Storage Project, And Assessment Of Potential Aquatic Impacts, Charles R. Liston, Stephen J. Grabowski, Bureau Of Reclamation

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A pumped storage system consists of an upper reservoir and lower reservoir separated by an elevation difference. During low demand energy periods such as nights and weekends water is pumped from the lower to the upper reservoir using available energy from conventional steam electric power plants. During high energy demand periods, such as mornings and afternoons of weekdays, upper reservoir water is allowed to drop back down through the same system of water conduits and turbines, generating electricity to conveniently meet abrupt electrical energy requirements. The same water turbines thus act both as pumps and as conventional hydroelectric turbines.

Because …

The Effects Of Impoundments On Salinity In The Colorado River, Larry J. Paulson, John R. Baker

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The increase in salinity of our western rivers has been identified as one of the most serious water quality problems in the nation. This is of special concern in the Colorado River where salinity has increased from pristine levels estimated at 380 mg/1 to present-day levels of 825 mg/1 at Imperial Dam. Flow depletions, associated with decreased runoff and increased evaporation and diversions, coupled with high salt loading from natural and man-created sources are considered the primary causes for rising salinity in the river. The urban and agricultural development projected to occur in the basin through this century could deplete …

Nutrient Interactions Among Reservoirs On The Colorado River, Larry J. Paulson, John R. Baker

Publications (WR)

Interactions among physical, chemical and biological processes in reservoirs can significantly alter the characteristics of the discharge (Neel 1963, Wright 1967, Hannan 1979) that, in turn, can influence the ecology of the river downstream .(Ward and Stanford 1979). Investigations of the Colorado River, system reveal that reservoir-induced changes in the river can also affect downstream reservoirs. The formation of Lake Powell, in 1963 was accompanied by reductions in suspended sediment and nutrient loading and changes in the seasonal temperature and discharge cycles of the Colorado River. In this paper, we evaluate how these changes have influenced the nutrient and trophic …

Water Quality Study Of Lake Mead, Dale A. Hoffman, Paul R. Tramutt, Frank C. Heller, Bureau Of Reclamation

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This report presents Lake Mead Water quality data obtained from 1964 to 1966. The effect of filling Lake Powell on the water quality of Lake Mead is evaluated. General limnological principles and the present limnology of Lake Mead are discussed. Lake Mead has a warm monomictic annual temperature cycle characterized by summer stratification, fall overturn leading into a continuous circulation throughout the winter; temperatures never fall below 39 deg F (4 deg C). During stratification, lower dissolved oxygen values were recorded in the thermocline than in the epilimnion and hypolimnion. Mineral content increases from the upper to the lower end …

Development, Verification, And Use Of Methods To Model Chemical And Thermal Processes Lakes Mead And Powell, Bureau Of Reclamation

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PURPOSE

The purpose of the proposed research is to quantify the effects that Lakes Mead and Powell have on the salinity in the Colorado River system, and to evaluate changes that cap be made to the operating system of the reservoirs (within legal/institutional constraints) to enhance salt precipitation and/or minimize evaporation within the reservoirs. The effect of any changes (i.e., selective withdrawal uses, pumped storage, etc.) on reservoir evaporation could also be evaluated with a goal of minimizing evaporation. This will be accomplished through the development of a mathematical model of the reservoirs as described below.

BACKGROUND

Two major problems …