Editorial: Understand the drought: Do the math

Friday, Dec. 19, 2003 | 9:28 a.m.

Drought has caused the level of Lake Mead -- Southern Nevada's primary source of water -- to drop more than 70 feet. If the drought persists, which it probably will, the lake level could drop another 12 feet within a year, according to the U.S. Interior Department.

Nevada receives a basic allotment of 300,000 acre-feet a year from the Colorado River, which feeds Lake Mead. (A family of five uses about one acre-foot a year.) Under an agreement with the federal government, however, we are allowed an extra 30,000 acre-feet, which benefits Southern Nevada. The government would end our rights to the surplus, however, if the lake level dropped to 1,125 feet.

If the drought persists and another 12 feet are lost by next December, the lake level would be 1,127 feet. At that level, and with the drought persisting, our surplus water could disappear in 2005. If the drought, now in its fifth year, eventually causes the lake level to drop to 1,083 feet, Nevada would see reductions in its basic allotment. With Nevada's population now exceeding 2.24 million, and growing 3 percent to 4 percent a year, elimination of the surplus would mean severe shortages. Cutbacks in the basic allocation would mean crisis.

The numbers, however, are not sinking in with some local government officials, businesses and residents. Complaints from banks and office complexes about having to shut off their fountains, and complaints from residents about car-washing rules, are leading to revisions in the Las Vegas Valley drought plan. In our view, the drought plan should be strengthened, not weakened. The Southern Nevada Water Authority should abide by the numbers, not short-sighted complainers.