Senate approves 40-mile Southern Nevada water pipeline beneath Sloan Canyon
Legislation authorizing a major water pipeline project in Southern Nevada has cleared the U.S. Senate and is now awaiting the president’s signature, according to Nevada Current.
The Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Pipeline Act, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, directs the U.S. Department of the Interior to grant the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) the necessary rights-of-way to construct and operate a new water pipeline beneath the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area.
The proposed 40-mile pipeline would be designed to move up to 375 million gallons of water per day to Henderson and communities in the southern Las Vegas Valley. Supporters say the additional line is intended to strengthen system reliability and reduce the risk of service interruptions.
Currently, residents in Henderson and the southern valley depend on a single 27-mile pipeline. Officials argue that relying on one primary line creates vulnerability if the system requires maintenance or experiences an outage. The new pipeline would provide redundancy, ensuring water service can continue if one line must be taken offline.
As reported by Nevada Current, the legislation also expands the boundaries of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area by more than 9,000 acres, increasing the protected land area by nearly 20% to approximately 58,000 acres.
Project costs are estimated between $2 billion and $2.5 billion. Funding would come from infrastructure and commodity charges paid by Southern Nevada Water Authority customers. Lawmakers said routing the pipeline beneath the conservation area was selected as the most practical option and avoids running the line through the City of Henderson, which would have added roughly $200 million in additional expense.
A companion measure previously passed the U.S. House. With Senate approval secured, the bill now heads to President Donald Trump for final consideration.
Some critics contend that the added water capacity could encourage further development and urban expansion in Southern Nevada, particularly alongside other public lands proposals under consideration.
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