Is Stormwater Treated Before Entering Lake Mead?
No. During a storm event, water runoff is carried by the Las Vegas storm drain system directly into the Las Vegas Wash, which drains to Lake Mead. Contaminated stormwater receives no treatment because of the sheer volume of runoff from an area encompassing 1,600 square miles. The cost of treating Clark County’s stormwater would be so high that it would exceed available resources. Is There a Difference Between a Storm Sewer and a Sanitary Sewer? Yes. The sanitary sewer and the storm sewer are two completely separate drainage systems. The sewer system, or sanitary wastewater system, takes all household wastewater from toilets, showers and sinks, and routes it through your plumbing system into the one of three water treatment facilities in the Las Vegas Valley. Once there, it receives three levels of filtration treatment before being discharged into the Las Vegas Wash and eventually Lake Mead. The stormwater system, on the other hand, was intended to route rainwater quickly off the street
