Water Treatment

Nearly 90 percent of our drinking water comes from the Colorado River via Lake Mead. The remainder comes from a deep groundwater aquifer beneath the Las Vegas Valley, which we use primarily during summer months to meet peak demand.

Water drawn from Lake Mead is sent to either the Alfred Merritt Smith Water Treatment Facility or the River Mountains Water Treatment Facility.

The water is first treated with ozone to kill any potentially harmful microscopic organisms.

A multistage filtration system then removes particles from the water. As the water leaves the water treatment facilities, chlorine is added to protect it on the way to customers' taps. It also is treated to minimize pipeline corrosion.

Because it is naturally filtered, water drawn from the groundwater basin is simply treated with chlorine as it enters the distribution system.