Rain barely made dent into drought problem

Friday, Aug. 22, 2003 | 10:44 a.m.

It rained hard in Las Vegas this week, but it was only a drop in the bucket compared to what the Southwest could use, local water officials said Thursday.

People are calling the offices of the Southern Nevada Water Authority asking if four years of drought, and the new restrictions imposed on the outdoor use of water, are over. The calls were prompted by heavy rain, as much as 3 inches in less than an hour, that pounded northwest Las Vegas on Tuesday.

"The people in the northwest might think the drought is over, but it really isn't," said Kay Brothers, water authority assistant general manager. The storms barely rippled the levels in Lake Mead, the source of the region's drinking water. Lake Mead holds about 9 trillion gallons.

Officials with the Clark County Regional Flood Control District estimated that 1.25 billion gallons of water fell within 90 minutes during Tuesday's storm.

It is enough water to snarl traffic and destroy homes, but only equals about three days worth of consumption for the Las Vegas Valley alone from Lake Mead.

Brothers said for the drought to be broken, the Rocky Mountains need snow. A lot of snow, which when it melts in the late spring will send water flowing into the Colorado River.

So far this year, runoff from the mountains to Lake Mead and its upstream reservoir, Lake Powell, is just 52 percent of normal.

However, she did have some good news. Exceptional rains in Colorado and southern Wyoming have eased the drought somewhat. The downside of those rains is that much of the moisture immediately evaporates in the warm summer months, she said.

The drought has prompted new water restrictions throughout the Las Vegas region. Henderson is scheduled to consider new restrictions on outdoor use next month.