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# Vegas vs. the Desert: Plumbing the Impossible
- URL: https://www.cascadepbs.org/show/human-footprint/extras/vegas-vs-the-desert-plumbing-the-impossible-butvvi/
- Published: 2025-07-17T20:01:06.000Z
- Updated: 2025-08-20T18:48:24.000Z
- Description: Las Vegas defies the desert with epic engineering — but at what long-term cost?
- Author: Cascade PBS Staff
- Tags: Human Footprint, #ZZZ_Show_920c28e7-cc8d-4bd4-a6a1-1d54d80cf6c8, #geo-us, #v1.7, #ZZZ_Extra_61ee3324-03e0-4342-a815-355098322f1d, #extra

Las Vegas thrives in one of the driest places on Earth thanks to engineering feats and strict water laws. Shane meets Colby Pellegrino and Cameron Donnarumma of the Southern Nevada Water Authority and visits the world’s oldest hydraulic dam in Italy with Giulio Boccaletti to explore what it takes — and what it costs — to bend water to human will.