The director or water treatment and quality for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) joins the Water Smart podcast to discuss treatment processes that protect our tap water supply. Greg Kodweis explains how ozonation kills viruses like COVID-19; why our tap water tastes like it does; why tap water is better than bottled water; and how SNWA invests in world-class research to advance water treatment in the United States. Most importantly, he explores the many reasons we can all be confident in the tap water that comes out of the faucets in almost every home and business in Southern Nevada.

According to Kodweis:

• “Within nature, ozone is created by lightening, and we’ve kind of duplicated that process here at our treatment plants. And one thing about ozone, it’ll kill and destroy bacteria about 3,200 times faster than chlorine.”
  
  
• “We go way above and beyond the requirements that any water agency would have. In fact, we have an entire department dedicated to working within the water community on researching different types of contaminants at very small levels.”
  
  
• “The most important thing to keep in mind is that taste is not an indicator of overall water safety.”

Recommended resources:

• Find your water provider’s Water Quality Report on snwa.com
• Get the facts about how Southern Nevada’s water is tested and treated
• Request the Consumer Reports ® home water treatment system ratings 
• Text the word CONSERVE to 85357 to get seasonal reminders to change your irrigation clock

https://www.snwa.com/

Southern Nevada has cut its water use by billions of gallons every year through one of the most successful water conservation programs in the world. Doug Bennett, conservation manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, talks with the Water Smarts podcast about the community’s actions and the effort still needed to protect the Las Vegas Valley’s precious water resources. Doug shares why everybody has a stake in water conservation and how everyone can contribute.  

According to Bennett:

•  “We went from being a poster child for squanderous water use to literally being considered one of the world class water efficiency programs. And that’s a huge achievement that all Southern Nevadans should be proud of.”
  
  
•  “Water fuels our bodies and it fuels our homes and our landscapes…it also fuels our livelihoods. We’re not saying ‘don’t use water’, we’re saying ‘Let’s use water as efficiently as we can’. Everybody can get behind that.”
  
  
•   “We need to fix some of the sins of the past here in Sin City. We put a crazy amount of grass in a lot of weird places, and now we’re helping to pay for some of the expense of having it removed.”

Recommended resources:

• Find water-saving tips on snwa.com
• Get rid of water-thirsty grass through the Water Smart Landscape Rebate program
• Find beautiful, water smart plants with SNWA’s Plant Finder Tool
• Get a Water Smart Irrigation Controller Rebate

https://www.snwa.com/