A group of nine key federal, state and contractor representatives who were on hand when the mole broke through the tunnel on 6-26-69. Three unidentified workers are visible above them with the "mole." The first stage of construction was completed between 1968-1971, and is comprised of a main aqueduct, a 3.78 mile tunnel through the River Mountains, eight pumping plants, and 31.4 miles of pipeline. This stage has a peaking capacity of 26.7 million cubic feet of potable water per day. The second stage enlarged the first stage system by expanding some of the existing facilities. New features included five pumping plants, the second barrel to the main aqueduct, and about 30 miles of pipeline and laterals with surge tanks, regulating tanks, and other delivery facilities. In conjunction with this stage, the State of Nevada enlarged and modified the Alfred Merritt Smith water treatment facilities to accommodate additional water supplies. The River Mountains Tunnel was constructed to full capacity in the first stage, and the Saddle Island intake facilities were oversized to accommodate both stages. The aqueduct system has a peaking capability of 53.4 million cubic feet of water per day. The River Mountains Tunnel was constructed during the first stage to accommodate second stage expansion. It is 3.78 miles long and was excavated through the River Mountains, which lie between Las Vegas Valley and Lake Mead. The concrete-lined tunnel has an inside diameter of 121.5 inches, and a maximum capacity of 608 cfs. The SNWA also constructed a larger tunnel, parallel to the River Mountains Tunnel for further expansion. The River Mountains Tunnel is used to convey raw water from Lake Mead to the River Mountains Water Treatment Facility that SNWA constructed near Henderson, NV. The River Mountains Facility, which began delivering treated water in October 2002, treats up to 300 million gallons of water per day, and was designed so it can expand to meet Southern Nevada's needs. In the future, the River Mountains facility will be able to treat up to 600 million gallons of water a day. This facility provides additional reliability and capacity to Southern Nevada's municipal water treatment and distribution capabilities.

Fred Gibson's family came to Nevada in 1929; moving to Ely, Carson City, and eventually Las Vegas. He went into the Army after high school graduation and then studied Japanese at Yale. After some time in Colorado, Fred transferred to UNR and graduated from the Mackay School of Mines. Fred and his dad organized Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada in 1955. The company merged with American Pacific in 1982 and today, among other enterprises, manufactures drugs at a facility in Rancho Cordova. His brother James Gibson served almost 30 years in the Nevada legislature. As a trustee director of the Nevada Development Authority (NDA), Fred was instrumental in organizing support for the idea of an engineering school at UNLV. Fred worked with people like Robert Maxson, Bob Gore, Jack McBride, Bill Flangas, and John Goolsby. He also teamed with Kenny Guinn to elicit donations from individuals and corporations, and lobbied the legislature to garner support for the school. As a member of the University Foundation, Fred has had a lot of interaction with Georgia Tech, and is trying to get the State of Nevada to approve a Georgia plan. He believes this will help the UNLV College of Engineering reach the level of schools like Georgia Tech and MIT. He also encourages the legislature to allow the university to use unclaimed property funds, but this idea still has not met with approval.