INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON WETLANDS AND SUSTAINABILITY 2007

EVALUATING EFFECTIVENESS OF BACKWATER WETLANDS IN NON-

POINT SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROL IN LAS VEGAS WASH, NEVADA

Kumud Acharya & Mark C. Stone

Desert Research Institute, 755 E. Flamingo Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89119, USA

kumud.acharya@dri.edu
mark.stone@dri.edu

Abstract

Wetlands very effectively mediate the transformation of nutrients and contaminants,

thus performing a quantifiable service to society. A wetland may function as either a
sink or source for a particular nutrient, providing net retention or release to
downstream waters. Located in arid Southern Nevada, the Las Vegas Wash
Wetlands (LVWW) are a unique ecological resource. Owing to a steady discharge of
treated wastewater and runoff from Las Vegas, a formerly ephemeral watercourse is
now perennial and supports a significant riparian corridor. The Wash currently
provides habitat to more than 300 fish and wildlife species and nearly 300 species of
upland, riparian and wetland plants. In recent years, explosive urban growth in Las
Vegas has severely impacted the LVWW. These trends have resulted in large
quantities of sediment and nutrients mostly from the non-point source, being
delivered to Lake Mead, where Las Vegas Wash terminates, resulting in seasonal
algal blooms. In an effort to protect and restore the Wash, efforts are underway to
construct erosion control structures (ECS). By slowing in-stream flows, the ECS
create backwater areas, thereby increasing sediment storage and ultimately the
potential for backwater wetlands. Backwater wetlands are beneficial downstream
because vegetation and aquatic microorganisms remove nutrients from the water,
thereby reducing the potential for downstream migration. This research evaluates the
effectiveness of the backwater wetlands, as a result of ECS, in non point source
pollution control.

Keywords: Las Vegas Wash Wetlands, Nutrients, Erosion Control Structures