Pipes OK’d for effluent to dump in Lake Mead
Buster Johnson: Move damages water quality

The U.S. Interior Department is allowing construction through public lands of a treatment plant and pipeline that will dump effluent into Lake Mead and the Colorado River.

The Bureau of Reclamation and National Park Service Final Environmental

Impact Statement Clean Water Coalition Systems Conveyance and Operations Program record of decision was dated Sept. 3.

It states the Bureau of Land Management will issue a right-of-way permit to the Clean Water Coalition to construct and operate the “Boulder Islands North Alternative” on BLM land. The pipeline will replace the discharge of effluent through the Las Vegas Wash.

The Clean Water Coalition is made up of the wastewater divisions of the City of Las Vegas, the City of Henderson, Nev., and the Clark County (Nev.) Water Reclamation District.

According to the record of decision, the reason the Interior Department is allowing the use of public lands is “to maintain water quality standards and National Park Service (NPS) recreational and resource values by operating a system that would allow for flexible management of wastewater flow from the Las Vegas Valley to Lake Mead.”

But Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson, R-Dist. 3, said the move actually damages water quality.

“Hundred of millions of gallons of effluent being dumped into our drinking water at a time when we are trying to clean up the river and protect our drinking water in Mohave County shows the lack of concern for downriver users. I have tried to get other users of the river water to voice their concerns but the Phoenix mayor’s office and others have remained silent,” Johnson said in a press release.

Lake Havasu is the collection point for the Central Arizona Project, the major drinking water supplier for Phoenix and Tucson. The lake is also the collection point for the Metropolitan Water District, which serves millions in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.

Johnson is primarily concerned with the chemicals that remain in effluent even after treatment.

“Since I spoke against this project with respect to the amount and concentration of pharmaceuticals that will be forced down river on us, new information has been released that shows the risk to the public could be worse than originally thought,” he said.

Recent testing revealed trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies has shown that more Americans are affected by the problem than previously thought — at least 46 million.

That’s up from 41 million people reported in March as part of an investigation into the presence of pharmaceuticals in the nation’s waterways.

The reports prompted federal and local legislative hearings, brought about calls for mandatory testing and disclosure, and led officials in at least 27 additional metropolitan areas to analyze their drinking water. Positive tests were reported in 17 cases, including Reno, Nev., Savannah, Ga., Colorado Springs, Colo., and Huntsville, Ala. Results are pending in three others.

The drug residues detected in water supplies are generally flushed into sewers and waterways through human excretion. Many of the pharmaceuticals are known to slip through sewage and drinking water treatment plants.

While the comprehensive risks are still unclear, researchers are finding evidence that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species in the wild and impair the workings of human cells in the laboratory.

And while the new survey expands the known extent of the problem, the overwhelming majority of U.S. communities have yet to test, including the single largest water provider in the country, New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people.

Another source is the disposal of unused prescription medications by flushing them down the toilet. Many waste experts now want to rewrite the rules so a broader range of professionals can handle leftover controlled drugs.

“And DEA — truth be told — has not been very cooperative and responsive in that regard,” says waste consultant Catherine Zimmer at the University of Minnesota.

That could change. The DEA declined requests for an on-the-record interview, but in a statement, spokeswoman Rogene Waite said: “DEA is currently developing regulations to allow for the safe and effective destruction of controlled substances.”

Ben Grumbles, the Environmental Protection Agency’s water administrator, confirmed his agency has participated in these discussions. He would not provide details, but called the talks productive.

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