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2023/2024 Meetings

The AEG Southern Nevada Chapter holds dinner meetings eight times per year.  Meetings are typically held on the second Tuesday of the month at the Embassy Suites Las Vegas located at 4315 University Center Drive (Near UNLV between Harmon Avenue and Flamingo Road) in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Each meeting features a presentation regarding a pertinent geological, environmental, or other relevant science-based issue.

Check-in and Socialize 6:00 to 6:30 pm

Dinner: 6:30 pm

Presentation: 7:15 to 8:00 pm

 

Members:  $35.00

Non-members:  $40.00

Students: $17.00 (Do not Pay in Advance)

Student Non-members: $20.00 (Do not Pay in Advance)

Walk-ins: $45.00

Vegetarian options are available.  Just let us know when you

register!

Payment for attending required at the time of registration.

NDEP - Certified Environmental Manager (CEM) Professional Development Hours (PDHs)

Attendance of a meeting will qualify for one NDEP-CEM-PDH.  There is no limit on the amount of PDHs that can be obtained by attending monthly meetings.  Become an active member of the AEG Southern Nevada Chapter and an additional four PDHs can be obtained annually.  Attending the AEG Southern Nevada Chapter meetings is a great way to network while obtaining the required PDHs necessary to maintain your CEM license.

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Tuesday - November 14, 2023

 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. PST

"Lake Mead Water Quality During a Historic Drought:

Data and Modeling Results"

By:  Dr. Todd Tietjen, Dr. Deena Hannoun, and Ms. Charlotte van der Nagel 

 Southern Nevada Water Authority, Las Vegas, Nevada

ABSTRACT:

The Southern Nevada Water Authority has an extensive water quality monitoring program on Lake Mead and has collected data for over 20 years from this vital resource for the Las Vegas community. This sampling program covers all major inflows to the lake, the Las Vegas Wash, the Virgin and Muddy Rivers, and the Colorado River. Routine monitoring occurs somewhere in the lake every week, with data collected on traditional water quality parameters and parameters of special interest to the drinking water treatment process and drinking water compliance. In addition to this comprehensive sampling program the Water Authority has developed an advanced 3-dimensional, mathematical model of Lake Mead water quality that can be used to explore potential future inflow and outflow scenarios as well as to plan for treatment modifications that would be necessary to address water levels that are beyond actual predicted levels. The majority of the intensive sampling period for Lake Mead has corresponded with the historic drought that began at the turn of the century.  Despite a loss of 75% of the volume of the lake and more than 50 m of surface elevation water quality in the main body of the lake has remained high. Our work suggests that this maintenance of high-water quality resulted from a combination of high levels of wastewater treatment in the Las Vegas Valley, the decreased residence time of water in the lake as water levels fell, and the placement of the reservoir at the bottom of a chain of 3 of the premiere National Parks of the West. 

BIOS:

Todd Tietjen has been the Regional Water Quality Manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority for 15 years, working on water quality issues in Lake Mead and the Colorado River Basin with particular focus on issues related to drinking water quality treatment. Todd received his Ph.D. in Aquatic Ecology from the University of Alabama and has previously worked at Mississippi State University and the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center.

Deena Hannoun received her BS in Mathematics from James Madison University and her MS & PhD in Applied Mathematics from North Carolina State University.  Deena is the Limnology Modeling Project Manager at the Southern Nevada Water Authority.  She manages the 3D hydrodynamic and water quality model for Lakes Mead and Mohave, as well as performing various modeling tasks on large, diverse data sets.

Charlotte van der Nagel is a third year Ph.D. candidate at the Geoscience Department at UNLV. She is originally from the Netherlands and received her MS in Hydrology from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Her current research focuses on the effects of climate change on semi-arid ecosystems. She carries out part of her research at SNWA, where she uses hydrodynamic modeling and statistics to study the effects of drought on Lake Mead.

Thank you to this month's sponsors!

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October 10, 2023
“State of Geoscience in Nevada – Mining, Lithium Extraction, Geothermal, Seismicity, etc.” and “Memorial to Professor Gene Smith” by Dr, James Faulds, State Geologist, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Reno, Nevada.
November 14, 2023
“Lake Mead Water Quality During a Historic Drought: Data and Modeling Results” by Todd Tietjen, Southern Nevada Water Authority, Las Vegas, Nevada.
January 16, 2024
“Hydrogeology of the Lower Meadow Wash, near Moapa” by Randy Paylor, United States Geologic Survey, Las Vegas, Nevada.
February 13, 2024
Jahns Lecture: “Regulatory Requirements for Hazardous Waste Management Units, and How These Requirements are Applied to a Case Study in West Texas” By Cynthia Palomares, P.G., P.E., Project Manager, Industrial and Hazardous Waste Permits Section, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (Ret), 2023-2024 AEG Jahns Lecturer.
March 5, 2024
“A Novel Approach for the Remediation, Reclamation, and Development of the Three Kids Mine Site for Residential Reuse” by Kirk Stowers, Broadbent and Associates, Inc., Henderson, Nevada.
 
April 9, 2024
“The Las Vegas 50-Year Water Plan” by Andrew Burns, Southern Nevada Water Authority, Las Vegas, Nevada.
May 14, 2024
“Can We Mine Our Way to a Less-Warm Planet?” by Dr. Jerry King, Geophysicist, Las Vegas, Nevada.

May 25, 2024

Annual Field Trip: To be determined.

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