Las Vegas Drilled a Tunnel Under Lake Mead in Case the Lake Drops Too Low
“Las Vegas draws roughly 90 percent of its water from Lake Mead. As the reservoir declined, the original 1971 intake was left above the waterline and the second intake approached exposure. Between 2008 and 2015 the Southern Nevada Water Authority bored a three-mile tunnel beneath the lake bed and connected upward into the deepest section of the reservoir, at an elevation that continues to function even if the other intakes fail. The project cost roughly $817 million and is known locally as the third straw. 🔔 Subscribe to Oddly Historic for history’s strangest true stories. #history #weirdhistory #shorts #lasvegas #lakemead #engineering”
