| By Vernon Robison Moapa Valley Progress Submitted May 28, 2008
Construction is well underway on a water pipeline that will connect Coyote Springs to Moapa. This $20.2 million project being constructed by the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) will deliver water 15 miles from the Coyote Springs basin into the Moapa Valley Water District system at Warm Springs. The source of the water is the MX-5 well in Coyote Springs. The well was developed in the early 1980s as part of the MX Missile siting studies. In 1979, during the Cold War, the U.S. military |
 Work crews work to install SNWA pipeline at Coyote Springs. The pipeline will connect Coyote Springs to the Moapa Valley Water District system in Moapa. |
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| had identified the area of east central Nevada and western Utah as one of several areas potentially suitable for the MX intercontinental ballistic missile system.
One of the largest considerations to this region, however,was availability of water resources. Studies were conducted and exploratory wells were drilled to determine what resources were available. The most productive well that was developed was the MX-5. The MX missile program was cancelled by the President in 1981. After that, the water rights to MX-5 traded hands once or twice. They became more and more valuable in the 1990s as pressures of growth in the Las Vegas valley stretched existing water resources. |
 A water truck fills up at the current site of the MX-5 well. The pipe works on the ground to the right are the actual well site. |
Today, the SNWA holds permitted rights to 9,000 acre feet of water in Coyote Springs. In recent years, the SNWA has made important Colorado River agreements and formulated plans with the Moapa Valley Water District (MVWD) regarding delivery of this water. According to these p lans, the SNWA has agreed to fund and build the pipeline which would connect into the MVWD system in Moapa. Water resources would then be allowed to finally flow into Lake Mead where it can be withdrawn for use in the Vegas Valley. The pipeline is proposed to begin at the MX-5 |
| site. After being pumped from the well, the water would run through an arsenic treatment facility and be chlorinated. It would then be held briefly on site in a new 640,000 gallon regulating tank.
Next, the water would be pumped through a 24 inch diameter pipeline, uphill several miles, out of the Coyote Springs valley. Arriving at the summit it would be held in an additional regulating tank, this one will be built with a 640,000 gallon capacity. From there it would flow, with gravity, several more miles through the pipeline until it connected into the MVWD system at the Moapa tank. |
 The right-of-way is currently being prepared well ahead of the pipeline construction. |
The pipeline runs parallel to State Highway 169 its 15 mile journey. Because of issues of topography and hydrology the pipeline will be required to cross under the highway four times along the route. Construction of the pipeline began in March of this year. Much of the work thus far has been in clearing the right of way for construction to begin.
Great pains are being taken to preserve the plant and wildlife in the path of the pipeline. “Our crews are being required to do a lot to make sure that the environmental impact is minimal,” said SNWA spokesman, Bronson Mack. |
| This includes installing tortoise fencing on either side of the right-of-way. Expert crews have also been called in to clear sensitive vegetation from the area and replant it in special salvage yards during the period of construction. The topsoil of the right of way is also removed and set aside so that the same soil can be replaced. This allows seeds that were in the soil to assist in the later process of revegetation.
“The final phase of the project will be the full revegetation of the area,” Mack said. “We won’t really be finished until that is complete.” The construction is also expected to have a minimal impact on residents in the area. “We expect to have very minimal impact on traffic on S.H. 169 during construction,” Mack said. Construction crews will be able to tunnel beneath the roadways to install the pipelines at crossings. All this can be done without road closure, Mack said. The construction project is expected to be completed by December of 2009. After the pipeline is completed, another step must be taken before the Coyote Springs water rights can be utilized fully. To ensure that removal of the water from Coyote Springs will have minimal impacts to the system, the Nevada State Engineer is requiring that SNWA perform a two year test pump. During that period, over 6,000 acre feet per year will be pumped from MX-5. A study will be done to examine the impacts to the acquifer and how far reaching they may be. This study will include the affects that may come to bear on the Muddy River system as well. “Special consideration will be given to impacts that the pumping will have on surface flows down gradient,” Mack said. “We will be looking at how it affects springheads to the Muddy River and to the dace habitat.” |
