When Jim and Lynn Fowler moved to Pahrump’s Mountain Falls community roughly two years ago, the retired couple never thought that they would end up with “beachfront property,” as Lynn refers to it now.
Within the quiet Tivoli tract of the neighborhood, clad with well-manicured lawns and scenic views of Mt. Charleston, lies a dirty little secret, in the form of dust, poof-dirt and other types of unsightly soil that accumulated right on the front porch and backyards of their La Romita Street home.
Neighborhood-wide problem
It appears the Fowlers’ neighbors are experiencing the same problem.
“The dust is blowing through all of our windows,” she said. “We do nothing but vacuum and wipe down everything. It accumulates in front of the garage door and our back patio is absolutely covered. There’s not a thing on our back patio that isn’t a mess and we’re not the only ones.”
Things weren’t always so dirty and dingy for the residents living in the Tivoli tract of Mountain Falls.
While acknowledging the fact that along with the desert terrain, combined with regular gusty weather conditions in the valley, Fowler said he knows that dust and dirt accumulation is inevitable. But residents have never seen this kind of mess since moving into the community, he said.
Moving dirt
Jim Fowler said the issue began last year when an individual who owns numerous acres of land just adjacent to the Tivoli neighborhood, used a front-loader to remove all of the desert vegetation, which previously held the dust and dirt at bay, Fowler said.
“He’s a farmer and rancher and he’s got an alfalfa field on the other side of all the houses,” Fowler said. “There’s an 8-inch water line that was leaking and people were getting a lot of water in their backyards. He went there with the loader and he moved a lot of dirt to fix the water line and then he graveled it. While he was at it, he also removed all of the vegetation and now it’s all just loose dirt. So now, there’s just big mounds back where he piled it all up.”
HOA contacted
Fowler said that he contacted Mountain Falls Homeowners Association, which in turn suggested contacting air-quality officials in Pahrump because it was not in the HOA’s control.
It should be noted that the cost of the homes in that area run upward of $450,000.
“The HOA fees are not bad,” Fowler said. “They do keep people from parking seven to eight cars out in the front, changing their oil out there, and they make sure people are keeping their yards up, but that’s about all they can do, I was told.”
Health concerns
Linda Impemba and her husband have been residents of Mountain Falls for roughly six years.
She said she will do pretty much whatever it takes to rectify the situation.
“I have no problem with getting a petition started,” she said. “I think most of us will participate in any way to keep the sand and dirt controlled, so I don’t think that’s going to be problem for me to get a petition started.”
Impemba said she has serious concerns about potential health problems associated with the dust and dirt.
“Nevada is one of four states where the blowing dust can cause a flesh-eating disease.” She noted. “This fungus is a problem in the three states surrounding us. You can get what’s known as ‘brain fog’ as well as other respiratory issues. Because of my age, I have auto-immune and respiratory issues. This is killing me.”
Emily Robinson and her husband arrived in Pahrump roughly seven months ago from a small village above the Arctic Circle in Alaska.
“This was going to be our forever home, but I have exercise-induced asthma, so I have to take my Albuterol inhaler every day,” she said. “Just going for a walk on a windy day, gives me problems because of all the dust blowing around. I would get have to take my Albuterol while I was actively exercising here. I take it every day.”
Dennis and Patricia Salvage’s rear patio was inundated with dust and dirt on a recent Saturday afternoon.
Dennis, a professional drummer who has played with the likes of legendary rock star Eddie Money, said when an air quality official agreed to inspect the area, it was music to his ears.
“She said she would come down and take a look at that area to see what’s going on,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jim Fowler said something as simple as having a water tanker spray down the area, every so often, would be a great help to abate the dust from blowing through the neighborhood.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes