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| "Bath tub ring" of Lake Mead; water drop since 2000. |
Shallow
ground water through the Las Vegas Wash is one important aspect to how Las
Vegas gets its water source. When it rains and snows, some water runs into
lakes, rivers, and streams; some of it evaporates and some plants absorb. The other water soaks into the ground and becomes a part of the water
table. The ground water beneath the entire city of Las Vegas is usually referred
to as the "shallow groundwater system." This water needs to be
monitored, because it can be very salty and can increase the amount of
dissolved solids in Wash water, which can adversely affect the growth of
wetlands and have negative impacts to habitat. This cannot be used for
drinking.
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| Water flow of Las Vegas Wash |
Since very little
storms occur in Vegas, little precipitation and less of a hydrology cycle occurs. Therefore
there are droughts that take place. Not every day can have precipitation like the photo below.
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| Storm in Spring Mountains Las Vegas, Nevada. |
Sources: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ideum/4648476744/
http://www.lvwash.org/html/what_flow_shallow.html
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ReplyDeleteThe explanation of how the hydrology cycle works in Las Vegas was executed well. The part that explained that the ground water in Las Vegas is vital, was really beneficial because in other places a source of water is not always the ground water. Since there are few rain storms in Las Vegas it is important that people understand where the water comes from. The part about how the Colorado River feeds Lake Meade was also important. This is so because it is given that the Colorado River is a main source of water. The part about how it feeds the lake in Vegas really helps the reader to understand how exactly the CO River benefits Las Vegas, as far as the hydrology cycle goes.
ReplyDeleteI was really interested when reading your blog post about hydrology in Las Vegas. I have been there a couple times and until now, have never really thought about any of this. It makes sense to read that it is one of the driest places in the United States because it's always so hot there and I've never really known it to rain at all in the times I have been there. It's amazing how closely the water needs to be watched for salt and solids. With all the fountains and water shows in Vegas, it kind of puts it into perspective in terms of how much work it actually takes to put things like that in place because of the lack of water they have.
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