Editorial: How green is your … gutter

Wednesday, May 1, 2002 | 9:16 a.m.

As the Las Vegas Valley's 1.5 million people head into a second straight summer of drought, the Southern Nevada Water Authority is talking more sternly about water conservation. For years the authority has included complete conservation information on its website and has been active in outreach programs, such as responding personally to calls for conservation help from homeowners and businesses. It has formed a youth council on conservation and has created a multimedia ad campaign featuring Deputy Drip. It gives advice over the phone, mans a waste hotline and distributes conservation tip sheets. It sends out press releases and its staff members appear on government programming and do public service announcements. It enlists volunteers to help get the word out about saving water. None of this has been enough, however, as misdirected sprinklers continue to m ake streams out of neighborhood gutters, costing the valley billions of gallons of its lifeblood.

We're not suggesting replacing the smiling Deputy Drip with a snarling Admiral Aimright, as the first goal should always be voluntary compliance. But we agree with the tougher stance the district is now assuming in light of so much waste by so many people. One tactic the district is contemplating is increased fines for wasters. In all of last year, only 28 water users were cited for chronic waste. More should be cited and those who do not respond should indeed face increased fines. The district is also talking about higher water rates and, if that doesn't work, water rationing. A big first step toward avoiding the tougher strictures could be taken quite easily: We should water our yards, not our streets.