Water rates tied to lower usage

Monday, April 30, 2001 | 11:10 a.m.

Outdoor water restrictions are enforced in Southern Nevada from May 1 to Oct. 1. Outdoor watering is restricted from noon to 7 p.m. in the cities of Las Vegas and Henderson and in the unincorporated areas of Clark County. North Las Vegas watering restrictions are in effect from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. All forms of exterior watering are prohibited during the restricted hours except hand-watering with a hose and watering lawns less than 30 days old. Licensed commercial plant nurseries are allowed to water during restricted hours. For assistance, call the water conservation hotline: 258-SAVE.

If people fail to turn off their taps this summer, a rate increase is certain, officials say.

The community did not achieve its conservation goal last year. From May 1 through Oct. 1, customers used 2.7 billion gallons more than the water authority had targeted. That's enough water to fill 17,000 average-size swimming pools.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority hasn't raised water rates in six years, General Manager Pat Mulroy said.

But if residents don't begin to conserve, later this year she will seek an increase for the biggest consumers, she said. The rate hike would become effective next summer.

The rate hike would not affect average Las Vegas Valley homeowners, Mulroy said. Large properties, some of which pay $1,000 per month for water, would feel the increase.

"People have settled in and gotten complacent," Mulroy said. "People have to realize this is a critical issue to the valley."

Clark County and the cities each have their own rate structures, but all could be forced to boost rates, she said.

By cutting water use, Mulroy said, consumers could also save electricity. It is as simple as fully loading washing machines and dishwashers, then running them at night, she said. Watering lawns after dark also helps, she said.

Lawn sprinklers are able to deliver more water after dark, she said. The sun has set and winds are light, so water evaporates more slowly.

The efforts will help the water authority in two ways.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority is the largest power consumer in the valley; it costs more than $25 million from June to September to pump water from Lake Mead one mile uphill to homes and businesses. That total could be reduced if less water had to be pumped.

But more important, Mulroy said, is the water savings.

"We can build more power plants, but we can't make more water," she said.

Water in the desert is a precious resource, said Bill Martin, CEO of Nevada State Bank and Water Conservation Coalition chairman. What's more, it's socially responsible to save water.

"The day has come when we have to get tough on saving water," Martin said.

Southern Nevada receives fewer than 4 inches of rain per year. But some Las Vegas lawns require up to 10 feet of water per year to properly maintain. In comparison, parts of the Amazon rainforest need about 7 feet, he said.

"Think of your grass with 10 feet of water on it, and that is how much is being used on some lawns," Douglas Bennett, the water authority's conservation manager, said.

One way to save on irrigation is switching to a desert landscape.

"I hope more people go to desert landscaping," water authority board Chairwoman Mary Kincaid-Chauncey said. "I think people are losing interest in conservation efforts, because it's really hard when you see all of the water features at hotels."

The authority also offers a program that rewards, at a rate of 40 cents per square foot, people who dig up their lawns.

Kincaid-Chauncey said the goal this summer is to conserve more than 19 percent of current usage. By 2010 consumers are expected to cut water usage by 25 percent, she said.

"Hopefully, we will be able to meet our conservation efforts this year," Kincaid-Chauncey said.