WorldWide Drilling Resource

74 MARCH 2015 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Congratulations to Scholarship Winners Adapted from Information by the Utah Ground Water Association WorldWide Drilling Resource ® joins the Utah Ground Water Association in congratulating the latest scholarship win- ners: Jeffrey Davis Austin Goddard Rustin Player Matthew Petersen Sariah Petersen Jordan Widdison Apply for the next scholarship by June 15, 2015. Visit utahgroundwater.org for details. Life in Las Vegas, Courtesy of Drilling Compiled by Amy White, Associate Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Carved from the harsh, dry desert, Las Vegas is a testament of sheer human determination. The city gets 90% of its drinking water from Lake Mead, which was created by the Hoover Dam. Without it, the city would cease to exist in its pres- ent form. Due to a 14-year drought, LakeMead’s water level has significantly dropped, and the two existing water intakes, or “straws” for the Las Vegas Valley are in danger of running dry. To address unprecedented drought conditions and provide long-term pro- tection of Southern Nevada’s primary water storage reservoir, the Southern NevadaWaterAuthority (SNWA) approved the construction of a new drinking water intake in 2005. The intake was designed to maintain SNWA’s abi l ity to draw Colorado River water at lake elevations as low as 1000 feet above sea level, and ensure system capacity if lake levels fall low enough to put the two existing intakes out of commission. Begun in 2008, the construction of Intake No. 3 has been an enormous proj- ect involving a tunnel boring machine (TBM) which chewed through solid rock beneath Lake Mead, creating a path for water to eventually flow from deeper re- serves in the lake. The TBM began its three-mile jour- ney in 2011, and in December 2014, it finally reached its destination when it “holed through” the concrete intake riser secured to the lake bottom. SNWA General Manager John Entsminger said the project has been “one of the most complex and challeng- ing tunneling operations ever attempted.” It even set a world record, encountering the highest water pressures of any tun- neling operation to date. The entire project relied on one cru- cial moment. After constructing a nearly 16,000-foot tunnel, engineers and work- ers had to hit a target just 25.5 feet across to connect the pipeline to the intake riser. They hit the bull’s-eye, and now an engi- neering marvel of the last century - the Hoover Dam - will be supplemented by an engineering marvel of the current century. The recent breakthrough marked the largest milestone yet, and also one of the last for the $817 million project ranking as the most complicated and expensive in SNWA’s history. This crew had a reason to celebrate when the TBM reached its target at the bottom of Lake Mead on December 10, 2014. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval toured the site of Intake No. 3 and was blown away by what he saw. “If you ever had any doubt in the capability (and) the ingenuity of modern engineering, you won’t have any doubt anymore if you (go) down there...It really made an impression on me in terms of what has to be done and what is being done throughout the West to ensure a secure water supply in the future for Nevada.” The project is scheduled for final completion this year. Editor’s Note: In between our print issues, the WWDR Team prepares an elec- tronic newsletter called E-News Flash . Based on readership, this was the most popular E-News Flash article of the month. Get in on the action and subscribe today at: worldwidedrillingresource.com Edwin L. Drake was born on March 29, 1819. He drilled the first U.S. oil well and became known as “Father of the American Petroleum Industry”.