CONTENT PRESENTED BY Southern Nevada Water Authority

How SNWA safely protects the valley’s drinking water

SNWA Native 41020

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Powered by Southern Nevada Water Authority

The Southern Nevada Water Authority treats almost the entire Valley’s drinking water before municipal water agencies deliver it to your tap. SNWA is committed to the quality, reliability and security of Southern Nevada’s drinking water and employs state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technology and expert staff to ensure that water meets or surpasses all local, state and federal standards.

Award-winning water treatment system

The SNWA River Mountains and Alfred Merritt Smith water treatment facilities have both earned the Excellence in Water Treatment award from the Partnership for Safe Water. The award recognizes utilities that optimize water quality and the efficiency of their facilities.

How SNWA treats your water

SNWA treats water drawn from Lake Mead at two advanced water treatment facilities. State-of-the-art ozonation is the primary water treatment—ozone provides a powerful disinfectant that destroys bacteria, Cryptosporidium and other microscopic organisms that may be present—and is paired with a multistage filtration system that removes particles from the water.

As water leaves the treatment facilities, SNWA adds chlorine to protect it on the way to your tap. Additional corrosion-control efforts help maintain water quality throughout the water distribution system.

• Water drawn from the groundwater aquifer is naturally filtered and treated with chlorine as it enters the distribution system.

• Southern Nevada’s main water source is the mineral-rich Colorado River. Naturally abundant, harmless calcium and magnesium dissolve as the river flows into Lake Mead. While you may notice a taste difference, your “hard” water (278 parts per million or 16 grains per gallon) meets all water-quality standards.

Tap taste tips

Despite the fact that the water supply meets or surpasses all state and federal drinking water standards, you may not like the taste of your tap water. It’s the chlorine that protects our water and the naturally occurring calcium and magnesium that give it a specific flavor. These tips can help you enhance the taste of your tap water:

• Refrigerate tap water in a pitcher—it boosts flavor and zaps chlorine perceptions.

• Add a lemon or orange slice to your glass for zest.

• Try an activated carbon filter, like those in carafe systems. These filters can improve taste, but don’t remove hardness, minerals, sodium or fluoride.

• Other supplemental home water-treatment systems aren’t necessary for water safety but may improve taste and hardness.

• Visit snwa.com for more information.

Tiny bubbles

Cloudy or milky looking tap water is caused by tiny air bubbles from the injection of groundwater into the main water supply. If you let the water sit for a minute, the air bubbles will dissipate and the water will clear. The bubbles don’t affect the water’s quality.

Protecting against Novel Coronavirus

SNWA maintains robust emergency response and readiness plans to help maintain water system operations during emergency situations such as the novel coronavirus outbreak.

According to health officials, coronavirus is primarily transmitted person-to-person—there is no indication that transmission can occur via drinking water supplies.

Your tap water is treated using ozonation, filtration and chlorination, which are on the leading edge of water treatment processes. Chlorination is extremely effective at destroying viruses and microorganisms during the water treatment process, and maintains disinfection throughout the water system.

Provisions also are in place to ensure that appropriate water treatment supplies and resources are available to sustain water delivery for an extended period of time, even during an emergency.

Safety standards

The Water Authority tests for more contaminants than required by state and federal law, and tests for many regulated and unregulated contaminants more frequently than required. As part of the testing and treatment process, each year SNWA:

• Collects more than: 54,000 water samples

• Conducts more than 295,000 analyses of those samples

• Tests for more than 160 regulated and unregulated contaminants

• Monitors water quality in real time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year