Las Vegas water reservoirs could only last around 50 more days
By Angel Salcedo
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Las Vegas (KOAT) — The city of Las Vegas is in a state of emergency as flash flooding on the Hermits Peak Calf Canyon burn scar damages their water reservoirs.
KOAT spoke with Mayor Louie Trujillo, who said the Gallinas reservoir is expected to last around 50 more days. It’s where people in Las Vegas get most of their drinking water.
“The Gallinas River is our lifeline in Las Vegas. The damage to it is vast. It’s way more than we ever expected to see,” Trujillo said.
Mayor Trujillo said it’s all from the Calf Canyon Hermits Peak burn scar. Monsoon rains are flooding the burn scar and bringing burnt debris down and into the river, contaminating it.
“We knew that we were in trouble because the fire was in our watershed. It’s everything from pine needles that burned on the ground to trees, partial trees, rocks and boulders. We are not able to take that water off and put it into storage at this time, even though it’s been raining here almost every day,” Trujillo said.
Mayor Trujillo said this isn’t just a problem for this year, so now, they’re looking for answers.
“We’re working with a consortium of at least 400 people to help us find solutions for our drinking water. We’re very strong-willed, and we will overcome this, and we will survive this terrible mess,” Trujillo said.
Mayor Trujillo said the city is working to purchase a new filtration system with the $2 million granted by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s emergency declaration.
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