Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Fountains running despite new rules

The water danced in the afternoon sun Monday, spraying up 6 feet or more from the three fountains at the Boca Park Fashion Mall.

Lake Mead may be suffering from the effects of more than four years of drought, but the fountains testify that not everyone is taking local ordinances governing water use seriously. The fines, for most of the companies, are relatively small and aren't likely to be assessed more than once every three weeks.

The Boca Park fountains operated by developer Triple Five Development Co. are, however, in violation of both Las Vegas Valley Water District services rules and Las Vegas law. For violating the water district rules, Triple Five was slapped this week with a $320 fine.

The company, which did not respond to multiple phone calls seeking comment this week, has two weeks to appeal the fine. Potentially, the company faces other sanctions.

For violating the city rules, the company -- or whoever is in charge of the fountains -- could face a maximum penalty of $1,000 or six months in jail, according to city officials.

Brad Jerbic, Las Vegas city attorney, confirmed that the city ordinance is in effect. The only exemptions in place are for resorts, which have been defined under the regional water-conservation rules as significant contributors to the local economy and thus allowed to apply for exemptions for fountains and water features.

City planner Sean Robertson, who warned companies earlier this month to turn off their fountains, said that the water district's fines would be the main instrument for enforcing the new policies, however.

Triple Five, a subsidiary of a Canadian company that also has built the world's largest shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, did not return repeated phone calls Tuesday.

The company is also seeking permission from Clark County to allow water fountains. Paul Larsen, an attorney representing Triple Five before the Clark County Commission, declined comment on the neighboring issue in the city.

Triple Five joined other companies that successfully lobbied the city to amend Las Vegas' restrictions on water use earlier this month. The city council, led by Councilman Larry Brown and Mayor Oscar Goodman on the issue, voted unanimously to amend the policy to allow companies to keep fountains on if the companies reduced water use in other areas by a 50-to-1 ratio.

Advocates argued that fountains lose very little water due to evaporation, and that it would be better to encourage conservation through the removal of turf or other means.

The policy, however, only allows the fountains to remain on if the companies file for exemptions under the new rule, and the procedures for that process are not in place.

City planners wrote to the companies that are seeking exemptions on Dec. 5, a day after the city council vote, and warned that fountains and similar water features "must be shut off immediately," except for a three-hour maintenance window in the early morning, until the companies formally win exemptions.

While the city's ordinance dealt with land-use issues, the water district has maintained its rule which considers fountains and similar features water wasters. Last Friday, the district's "water cops" conducted inspections of the 16 companies that had sought exemptions from the city.

The inspections came a day after water district General Manager Mulroy and Goodman, who also is a member of the Southern Nevada Water Authority board, warned that any fountains operating anywhere in the Las Vegas Valley would be in violation of regional water-conservation policies.

Six of the companies still had their fountains on and will receive warnings or in the case of repeated violations, fines, said water district spokeswoman Tracy Bower.

Triple Five, which had received two other notices for violating water-conservations rules, received the largest fine. The West Sahara Community Association, at Sahara Avenue and Durango Drive, was fined $80 fine, and Rainbow Gardens, on West Charleston Boulevard, was fined $40.

The fines for the community association and Rainbow Gardens were for first-time violations. The difference in the fine amounts is due to the size of the water-line connections in each case, Bower explained.

Three other companies received warnings but would not be fined unless another inspection shows that the fountains remain on, she said.

Some of those companies, including Quail Park at Charleston and Rancho Drive and Thomas & Mack Development Co.'s US Bank Building at Sahara Avenue and Rancho, had turned off their fountains by Monday.

Those fountains could come on again within the near future. Next month, the regional water authority, which brings wholesale water to agencies such as the water district for Las Vegas and Clark County and the cities of North Las Vegas and Henderson, should produce new rules that could be adopted throughout Southern Nevada and could be modeled on the Las Vegas city ordinance.

Until then, however, the district water cops will be searching for violators, including those who had sought exemptions from the city, officials said.

Bower said the turnaround from inspection, notice of violation and appeal process can take three weeks, limiting the number of fines a company can receive.

Bower said everyone will have an opportunity to receive a warning before they are fined. But if they get the warnings and the water keeps flowing, the companies will not only lose a little money, but they will be identified as violating the water rules, according to water officials.

"Like any customer who has a fountain on during a drought, we will warn them, ask them to turn it off, then issue a water waste fee," Bower said.

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