Monday, June 16, 2003 | 9:04 a.m.
For the past, oh, 20 years, we who live in the Las Vegas Valley have heard about the serious water shortage that certainly awaits us "in the future." Well, the future is suddenly upon us. It appears certain now that voluntary conservation will no longer be the operating plan for water use in Southern Nevada. The Las Vegas Water Authority, working with a citizens' advisory panel, has drafted a new structure for water rates and public hearings are set for next month. The new rates would cost families at least an extra $5 a month -- and a lot more depending on use.
The district is also all but certain to initiate its drought plan this summer, which could impose severe restrictions on intense uses such as landscape watering. The reason for the urgency now is that the Colorado River, which feeds Lake Mead -- Southern Nevada's source of water -- did not receive nearly enough water from snow melt to even put a dent in the drought that has been ongoing for the past several years. We generally look at rate increases the same way as everyone else -- with dread. But better dread than dry.
archive
