So, since I don't live in the desert, I don't know if it is normal for water pipes to be above ground.

So, are all these rusted metal pipes that run from Lake Mead based on a real system that is used. Or is it a grand post-war NCR engineering project?

Told ya it was random.

I'm not from around that area, so can't say if some major pipe-based water system exists for real down there or not... but in most places where large volumes of water need to be moved from one place to another, they don't use pipes- they use open aquaducts and canols, usually supplied by gravity feed, but sometimes by pumps. If any large pipe system does exist, I can guarantee it doesn't use the bizarre Rube Goldberg setup portrayed in NV.

i've been pondering this question for about an hour until I realized you could probably use google maps to just look for yourself

I've always wanted to use my explosives character and blow a huge hole in the pipe with Annabelle for teh lulz.