‘THIRD STRAW’: Water authority digs deep for third intake pipe at Lake Mead
Down at the bottom, the rain never stops. It seeps from the rock walls and pours from the
600-foot shaft that frames a clear blue sky. ? Pumps help to stem the tide, but still the water collects, turning this work zone 60 stories underground into a humid, muddy mess. ? When it’s finished in early 2013, the so-called "third straw" into Lake Mead will keep water flowing to Las Vegas despite drought and shortages on the Colorado River.
Right now, though, all this extra water is an unexpected complication for a project that is already complicated enough."It’s not your friend in the tunnel business," said Project Manager Jim McDonald. "Water is always our worst enemy."
Intake No. 3, as it is officially known, is the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s $700 million answer to a mounting dilemma: Roughly 90 percent of the valley’s drinking water is drawn from Lake Mead through two existing intake pipes. So what happens if the lake shrinks low enough to shut down one of those pipes? Read full story:
