Water authorities starting early to get message out

Thursday, Jan. 29, 1998 | 10:12 a.m.

It's months until Southern Nevadans will begin to water their lawns in withering heat, but officials are already warning residents about wasting an average 190 gallons from each house every day.

"If the community reverts to its water-wasting practices of the past, we could be back in a water crisis mode before we know it," said Bill Martin, chairman of Southern Nevada Coalition 2000, a community and business organization designed to attack the grassroots of water consumption.

As Southern Nevada stays at the top of the list of fastest-growing areas in the nation, water conservation has become crucial.

It's not the wastewater that goes down household drains that's the problem, but the overwatering outside each home that Martin worries about. Restricted watering between noon and 7 p.m. takes affect in Southern Nevada on May 1.

While Nevada appears to have cleared the way to store water for future use underground in Arizona, Martin insisted that Las Vegas Valley residents can't ignore further conservation.

Keeping Colorado River resources flowing in the future will require Southern Nevadans to increase water savings, Martin said.

While citizens saved 13 percent of the area's water supply in 1997, the Southern Nevada Water Authority has set a regional conservation goal of 25 percent by 2010.

In 1996 the savings was 10 percent, a double-digit reward for the coalition's efforts since 1994.

The coalition intends to continue educating the public about water efficiency, Martin said.

In December Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt announced his approval for a plan to allow Nevada to pay Arizona for storing Colorado River water underground. The federal regulations to do so are under review.

Under the proposal, Nevada would pay to bank up to 1.2 million acre feet of water underground in the neighboring state. That is four times Nevada's current allocation from the Colorado River. It would provide a solid water supply until 2035, with Nevada paying the price for the storage.

Then Nevada would draw equal amounts of the stored water from Lake Mead.

"All the banking in the world, however, won't make a difference to Southern Nevada without continued conservation efforts," SNWA General Manager Pat Mulroy said.

The conservation goal for 1998 is 15 percent, according to David Riggleman, SNWA conservation manager.

"That translates into a savings of 190 gallons per day per household," he said. "Saving water is actually easy. Shaving a few minutes off your sprinkler clock can save a considerable amount of water."