PASSED: Cortez Masto’s Bill to Protect the Water Supply for More than One Million Nevadans

FTP for TV stations of her remarks is available here.

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) passed her bill to allow the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) to construct a new water pipeline to provide water delivery redundancy for over one million Nevadans. The Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Water Pipeline Act would dramatically improve the reliability of Las Vegas's water system and protect residents from outages, while safeguarding ecosystems in Sloan Canyon. The bill also expands the Sloan Canyon National Conservation (NCA) area by nearly 9,300 acres - increasing its size by nearly 20 percent.

Cortez Masto spoke on the Senate floor about the bill, and it passed the chamber unanimously.

"Right now, almost 40% of Las Vegas residents and businesses depend on the South Valley Lateral pipeline. That's one single pipeline for nearly 3 million people," said Cortez Masto. "The bill I passed today will allow the Southern Nevada Water Authority to build a new water pipeline that will improve the reliability and capacity of our existing water system and will protect the water supply for nearly half of Las Vegas residents and businesses."

After years of study and engagement with valley stakeholders, SNWA determined the safest, most effective, and least disruptive route for the Horizon Lateral would be via an underground pipeline below the Sloan Canyon NCA, as opposed to constructing it through the City of Henderson. This route saves ratepayers $200 million, minimizes disturbances to both Henderson residents and the land in Sloan Canyon.

A companion bill in the House of Representatives, led by Representative Dina Titus (D-Nev.-01), passed last year. The bill now heads to the President's desk for signature.

Read the full bill here.

Senator Cortez Masto has been a leader working to support conservation efforts and combat drought. As part of the Great American Outdoors Act, she secured permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Cortez Masto fought to deliver $4 billion to combat drought in the states bordering the Colorado River in the Inflation Reduction Act and helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will continue to make a historic amount of funding available for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements across the country over five years.

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