Advisory panel says growth should figure into water policies

Will Oremus

Tuesday, July 29, 2003 | 9:19 a.m.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority should urge its member agencies to "pay attention" to population growth issues as they look for solutions to the region's water shortage, an advisory committee of Las Vegas Valley residents concluded on Monday.

At their biweekly meeting, members of the Drought Citizens Advisory Committee agreed that they lacked the authority or expertise to make specific recommendations for restricting growth. Still, several expressed concern about the proliferation of new housing developments in a time of drought.

"I find it very difficult to sell residents on the necessity to conserve when they look around them and there's all this growth going on," said Don Barsky, resident of the Nevada Golf Course Owners Association and a member of the committee.

The water authority is currently studying the potential repercussions of a no-growth policy, which some say could be enforced by refusing to provide water to new developments.

Many analysts believe such a policy would be disastrous economically, and members of the water authority's board, which is made up of local elected officials, have been slow to embrace the idea of slowing growth.

Nevada has had the greatest percentage of growth in home building nationwide for several years. It led the nation with 4 percent between July 2001 and July 2002, according to the census bureau. The national average was 1.3 percent.

Some residents argue that slowing that growth may be necessary.

"In the end, when we're out of water, what are we going to do?" committee member Ken Mahal said.

A four-year drought has brought the water level in Lake Mead -- the main source of drinking water for Southern Nevada -- to about 1,145 feet, its lowest level in 34 years.

The citizens committee is charged with developing measures for the water authority to implement in case of a "drought emergency," in which the lake's water level sinks below 1,125 feet. At the current rate, that would come at the end of 2005.

Lewis Michaelson, the consultant hired to run the committee's meetings, said the issue of growth could not be avoided, despite the fact that many believe it lies beyond the water authority's purview.

"While the group was not asked to make pronouncements on growth, for many people in this community there is a link between growth and the water shortage," he said. "They believe that Southern Nevada policy-makers need to take a serious look at new demands on consumptive water use created by development."

Committee member Joy Diaz contended that she and the other committee members should refrain from commenting on growth issues, since she said "we're not qualified" to assess the overall economic impact such restrictions might have.

The citizens committee will meet again in two weeks to further discuss and possibly finalize recommendations on incentive programs, water budgets, public education and other drought-related issues.