‘Water cops’ on fountain watch

Mary Manning, Malia Spencer and Afsha Bawany

Friday, Aug. 8, 2003 | 11:03 a.m.

The metallic children playing in a fountain statue on Green Valley Parkway and Sunset Road may not be spraying each other with their hose in the near future now that new water restrictions have gone into effect. And real children frolicking in the fountain at Town Center on Sunset Road a block away may also be a thing of the past.

The Southern Nevada drought restrictions on ornamental water, such as fountains at commercial properties, went into effect last Friday in Henderson, Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County, but local municipalities are just beginning enforcement procedures, officials said.

Water restrictions on individual homeowners are expected to go into effect Sept. 1. At that time an average family's monthly bill could increase about $5 a month if they don't cut back.

Big commercial users, however, are already feeling the pinch on water use.

The Las Vegas Valley Water District has sent letters to the 9,000 businesses they serve telling them to cut back use immediately, spokeswoman Amy Kremenek said, and the city of Henderson has sent similar notices, according to utilities services Director Kurt Segler.

Boulder City and North Las Vegas city councils have not passed enforcement rules, but expect to have them in place later this month.

"We do expect the fountains will be turned off," Sue Regan of Henderson's Utility Services Department said Tuesday.

Under the new water restrictions fountains and other water features in commercial areas must be turned off unless the property owners have a special-use permit, Tracy Bower, a spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Valley Water District, said. Businesses apply for the permit through their municipal planning departments.

Mist systems are allowed between noon and 10 p.m through Aug. 31.

To ensure the water gets turned off, the water district is sending out its water conservation staff -- seven full-time and 12 part-time "water cops" who work in shifts around the clock -- to watch for scofflaws, and are encouraging residents to call the conservation division to report flowing fountains and waterfalls, Kremenek said.

The division investigated an average 116 cases a day based on phone and staff reports this week, compared with about 90 a day in July, she said

The city of Henderson is compiling a database, using the eyes of its 26 meter readers, who double these days as conservation officers. Four extra part-time people have been added to help out, Segler said.

Local governmental agencies currently do not have a database of area fountains and waterfalls, so Henderson is starting from scratch.

Those found to be flaunting the new, stricter rules will be cited and have 48 hours to correct the problem, Regan said. Users who fail to fix the problem will be fined on a sliding scale, with the penalties added to the monthly water bills. Each violation doubles the fine, water officials said.

Exemptions can be granted for businesses that can make a case that the water feature has an economic benefit. Those go through the city or county planning department and have to be approved by the city council, Kremenek said.

Henderson hasn't started getting tough, yet. First, Segler said, the city is meeting with other water providers to make sure the rules are being enforced consistently.

"Enforcement is everything," he said. "Equal enforcement across the valley is important here."

It's key, he said, to ensure everyone is defining a fountain the same way and that exemptions are being granted consistently.

An informal tour of Las Vegas neighborhoods showed many fountains and other water features were already turned off. But not all were.

Waterfalls by Canyon Gate in The Lakes were not running, and fountains and other water features in Summerlin were turned off.

The city of Las Vegas shut its own fountains off this week at City Hall, in the Lewis Avenue Corridor and in public places such as parks.

"We did not think it would be fair if we did not shut off the city's fountains," city spokesman David Riggleman said.

The Boca Park shopping center on Rampart and Charleston boulevards, however, had three fountains all spraying on Wednesday. On Lake Sahara Drive a waterfall in front of the CitiBank building was working.

DeAnna Wilkins, a resident of The Lakes, said she's bothered by the fountains functioning in daytime hours.

"It's very wasteful since we've been restricted on watering our lawns," said Wilkins, who was waiting for a table with her friends outside The Cheesecake Factory.

Wilkins' friend Roxanne Horner agreed. "They should regulate and monitor businesses," she said, adding she hoped that businesses still running their fountains were at least recirculating the water.

Many fountains in Henderson were still operating Wednesday afternoon, but they were expected to run dry soon.

Children still played in the fountain at Town Center. Michael Abney, a resident of Henderson for three years, said he and his two daughters come to the fountain often in the summer months. He was unaware that fountains would be included in the new regulations and disappointed to hear the popular site may soon be dry.

Michael Carey, vice president of property management for American Nevada Co. who owns the fountain at Town Center, said the company is examining its five water features to determine which ones fall under the new regulations. American Nevada Co. is owned by the Greenspun family, which owns the Sun.

"We will of course comply with the Southern Nevada Water Authority," Carey said.

But water play will still be available in Henderson. The city's Parks and Recreation officials said Thursday that so far they have no plans to turn off the various water features at the city's parks.

Dirk Richwine, assistant director of parks and recreation, said those features run only seasonally and are low flow, so they won't be turned off.

Two water features at St. Rose Dominican Hospital also remained running Wednesday. Shauna Walch, director of communications, said the hospital is aware of the new regulations and as soon as it receives formal notice the proper measures will be taken.

"If it's a requirement we will follow (it)," Walch said.

She also said the hospital will take the new regulations into consideration when planning gardens for its next campus.

Meanwhile some groups are discussing additional ways to save water beyond turning off fountains.

Hal Bloch, president of the Summerlin North Homeowners Association, said the organization is discussing converting a grassy roundabout on Town Center Drive off Summerlin Parkway into a mix of desert plants and rocks to save water.

Tom Warden, a spokesman for the Howard Hughes Corp., Summerlin's developer, said the master-planned community is always looking for ways to be water smart. Water features are no longer designed at the entrances to villages, he said.

The master-planned community is also using drought tolerant plants that may cost more but look better and save water, Warden said.

"It's clear we're not going to get anywhere until we see serious conservation by everyone, " he said.

Sun reporter

Jean Reid Norman contributed to this story.