A vital feed for Lake Mead is set to receive $20 million of funding to help aid erosion control, according to an announcement Tuesday.

The Las Vegas Wash is the primary channel through which Las Vegas Valley’s excess water returns to Lake Mead, contributing approximately two percent of the lake’s all-important supply.

Lake Mead, home to the world famous Hoover Dam, meets the water needs of some 25 million people in Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico. However, recent years have seen its water levels significantly depleted.

“The Las Vegas Wash is critical to keeping more water in Lake Mead as well as ensuring safe and clean water for this generation and those to come,” Congresswoman Susie Lee said in the announcement.

She added: “Nobody knows better than a Nevadan how important our water is, and today’s announcement is another huge win to protect both our local and regional water supply.”

The federal investment will go toward the construction of an erosion control weir in the Lower Las Vegas Wash within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The new weir will help filter returning water to Lake Mead and improve habitat conditions for endangered wildlife in the area, “fortifying the Wash for years to come,” the announcement said.

The money comes from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Program, while the Southern Nevada Water Authority will be tasked with building the weir.

WaterSMART’s program coordinator, Avra Morgan, was contacted by Newsweek via email for comment on the project. The Southern Nevada Water Authority was contacted via phone.

“The Las Vegas Wash channels more than 200 million gallons of water every day to Lake Mead, and weirs and surrounding natural habitats are critical for reducing erosion and filtering this natural resource,” Representative Dina Titus, who was also involved in the funding allocation, said in a statement.

“Today’s funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will ensure the Southern Nevada Water Authority has the ability to continue boosting water quality, and allow our region to maintain its leadership in water conservation.”

As well as funding the construction of the weir, the money will be used to remove invasive tamarisk—a weed that draws down the water table, preventing other plants from taking root—and replant native shrubs, trees and grasses.

The wetlands created by the weir will provide a key habitat where species such as the federally endangered southwestern willow flycatcher and the threatened yellow-billed cuckoo can flourish.

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