The Las Vegas Wash

09/11/26

“How does Las Vegas use a 12-mile swampy stream to recycle its wastewater?”

Las Vegas sits in a difficult place for water. The metropolis sits in one of the driest and hottest parts of the U.S., and climate change is expected to bring even less rainfall. But it turns out Vegas has a secret card up its sleeve. The Las Vegas Valley channels its wastewater into a 12-mile swampy stream called The Las Vegas Wash for purification. The plants in the Las Vegas Wash remove contaminants from the (post-treatment plant) wastewater, and the end of the stream ends at Lake Mead to connect back into the water supply system. This advanced water-recycling technique will only become more important as the climate-change-driven drought intensifies.

Image credit: https://www.lvwash.org/