LAKE MEAD, Nev. - Monday's fatal accident at Lake Mead is the first major accident at the so-called third straw pipeline project. The I-Team's Nathan Baca takes an inside look at construction and shows what hazards the men underneath Lake Mead face.
In August 2010, 8 News NOW received an inside look at the construction of the third straw. The large pit goes down 600 feet. Geothermal activity heats the water to 90 degrees underground. Workers drilling underneath can hit a pocket of water at any time.
That happened July 2010. It happened again January 2011 when flooding occurred after the tunnel hit a fault line. Last month, seeping water delayed the $800 million project, which is now scheduled to end 2014.
"You build some wiggle room into these kinds of construction projects - particularly something of this nature, because you know something's going to happen," said Southern Nevada Water Authority spokesman J.C. Davis.
Once the starter tunnel is ready, a 1,500 ton drill will move forward to create a three mile tunnel. There are six segments for every ring - 2,500 rings for the entire tunnel.
The water authority says highly pressurized grout connecting those rings failed Monday, leading to a worker's death.
The workers signed their name to the giant drill for good luck. Contractors wanted to give the drill a southwestern Indian name. It's named "The "Kokapelli", perhaps unknowingly, after the Zuni Indian "trickster god.
This pipeline has bedeviled Nevada's best engineers with multiple floods. Now, it has taken a life, serving as a reminder of the challenges faced in the deep.
Those controversial water rate increases that are causing business owners to protest will pay for this water pipeline. The SNWA says the pipeline is needed in case the lake's water level falls below 1,050 feet. The level currently sits at 1,118 feet and is dropping.
