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‘Illegal roads’ in a Nevada national park will cost $8.5m to fix, officials say

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‘Illegal roads’ in a Nevada national park will cost .5m to fix, officials say


Nevada parks officials will spend more than $8.5m addressing a boom in illegal roads at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the public lands around the sprawling man-made reservoir above the Hoover Dam.

Officials have documented at least 824 miles of illegal roads in the recreation area, but suspect the true amount could be double that. The unpermitted development prompted officials to close the popular campsite Government Wash in August.

“From an aerial platform, you see dozens and dozens of illegal roads that have been created… An incredible amount of damage that is occurring. We have an obligation to correct,” Trouper Snow, chief ranger of Lake Mead National Recreation Area at the time of the closure, told Fox 5 Vegas.

Snow said the roads have proliferated as the water level of Lake Mead has dropped in recent years, and people set up semi-permanent dwellings with mobile homes along the water.

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“This area is not meant to house 300+ residents that are living here… Over the past five years, our enforcement has responded to well over 1,000 incidents,” Snow added speaking with the TV station.

In addition to taxing park resources policing illegal camping, the unauthorized roads damage local wildlife like the Las Vegas bearpoppy, a flowering plant with a rare ability to grow in the Mojave Desert’s gypsum-rich soil.

Dropping water levels at Lake Mead have led to increased illegal road construction
Dropping water levels at Lake Mead have led to increased illegal road construction (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

“In desert areas, off-road vehicles can be quite destructive,” Jeff Ruch, director of the Pacific Regional Office of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in September. “They rip up whatever vegetation is there and make the land uninhabitable for wildlife.”

The National Park Service announced a five-year, $8.66 million set of conservation funds for the project in November, funded by the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, which devotes money from the sale of public lands around Las Vegas to conservation projects.

“This will be a heavily partnership and community-oriented project,” park superintendent Mike Gauthier said in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with the public, tribes, and conservation-focused partners to help protect cultural and natural resources in these key park locations. Together we will take the next steps for the park’s future, working to elevate the beauty and recreation that makes Lake Mead special.”

The water level in Lake Mead has been hovering around near-record lows for years, thanks to a combination of a megadrought, the climate crisis, and the overuse of the Colorado River.

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In 2022, the water levels were so low human remains and artifacts began emerging on parts of the shoreline that were previously buried underwater.



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Nevada

WOW Carwash touts year-round water conservation with recycling tech in Southern Nevada

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WOW Carwash touts year-round water conservation with recycling tech in Southern Nevada


In the desert climate of Southern Nevada, WOW Carwash says it is working year-round to conserve water and reduce its environmental impact, using a combination of water-reclamation technology, biodegradable soaps and energy-efficient equipment.

The Las Vegas-born company says washing a car at home uses roughly 100 gallons of water. By comparison, WOW says it uses about 30 gallons per vehicle and reclaims up to 80% of the water.

WOW says its water-reclamation system exceeds typical local requirements. While local car washes are only required to have one sand and oil separator, WOW says it has four, along with a mud tank and UV filters designed to recycle water, reduce daily water use and ensure no solids are sent to the sewer system.

The company says all water from a WOW Carwash enters a 1,500-gallon mud tank underground at each location to begin separating soils from the water. From there, WOW says the water passes through a series of four sand and oil separators, where oils float to the surface, and soils sink to the bottom. WOW says the cleaned water is then pumped through UV and micron filters to remove remaining contaminants so it can be recycled and reused in the car wash.

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WOW also says it repurposes the dirt washed off vehicles. The company says its water-reclamation tanks are pumped regularly by licensed vacuum trucks to maintain efficiency, and what is pumped out is then utilized as fertilizer.

WOW says all cleaning agents used in its tunnel wash process are environmentally safe and biodegradable, and that the soaps are safe to the human touch and for a vehicle’s paint while still being tough on dirt. The company says the cleaning agents break down naturally, reducing harmful runoff that could otherwise flow into storm drains and local waterways.

To reduce its carbon footprint, WOW says it uses energy-efficient equipment, including Variable Frequency Drives that allow electric motors to “ramp down” when demand is low to reduce electricity use during operations.



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Will a new Nevada law to prevent heat deaths work? Planning is underway

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Will a new Nevada law to prevent heat deaths work? Planning is underway












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Las Vegas Valley governments are writing extreme heat into master plans. Will it prevent deaths? | Environment | News





















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