Jun 30 2008
Drought in Las Vegas
Today’s show on Forecast Earth on the Weather Channel was titled “The Challenges of Climate Change.” It featured the five biggest environmental changes that we are experiencing due to global warming. One of them was drought, and which city did they feature when discussing this topic? Of course, Las Vegas!
Las Vegas currently gets about 90% of it’s water from Lake Mead. And Lake Mead is reaching 50% capacity right now. A Drought Alert was officially declared in January 2004 by the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
Our community has stepped up the plate and reduced water usuage primarily through responsible outdoor water use. As part of the SNWA Drought Plan, there are many restrictions put on water usage. The Las Vegas Valley Water District, which is who we pay our bill to, has taken it one step further. They have put in place drought watering restrictions and you will recive a water waste fee and/or termination of service for any violations. But, I am not exactly sure how these rules are enforced. 
Another recent change to further increase water conservation will show up on our monthy bill. I ran across an article in the Las Vegas Sun, “Water: The more you use, the more you’ll have to pay”. It really explained the details of the bill increase.
This brings me to my final thought. I live in an average Las Vegas household. Our home has 3 bedrooms with desert landscaping. There are two adults and two kids in the house who bathe regularly. I also run the dishwasher once a day and do at least one load of laundry a day. Our water bill is about $20 per month. In comparison, our power bill averages to about $200 per month. As far as I know, there is no official ”power drought.” So, if there is so little water to be had, why is it so cheap?
