Lake Mead water will cost more

Friday, May 16, 2003 | 9:48 a.m.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority will be charging regional distributors a bit more for water next year.

The Water Authority board, made up of representatives from elected offices throughout the county, approved the budget 6-0 Thursday morning. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a board member, was absent.

The wholesale delivery charge for Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County, North Las Vegas and Boulder City will go up from $200 to $215 an acre-foot. An acre-foot of water is about 326,000 gallons, or enough water for a typical Clark County family for one year.

The overall wholesale delivery charge will increase from $92 million to $101 million in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The operating budget for the authority will grow from $121.3 million to $147.9 million.

Richard Wimmer, Water Authority deputy general manager, said the increases reflect additional costs to deal with nearly four years of drought, additional security expenses and increased power charges from pumping the water uphill from Lake Mead.

"In terms of the important issues that we're dealing with right now, there is nothing more important than the drought and security," Wimmer said.

Conservation efforts at the Water Authority will grow to $17.4 million from $4.4 million this year. Most of that increase, $13 million, is for the "Water Smart" landscaping program, which reimburses homeowners for converting lawns to desert landscaping.

The board earlier this year increased the reimbursement rate from 40 cents a square foot to $1.