Southern Nevada to enter ‘drought alert’ on Jan. 1

Friday, Nov. 21, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.

Southern Nevada will officially enter a "drought alert" Jan. 1, a regional board ruled Thursday.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority board voted 6-0 to move the region into the second of three drought responses because of dropping water levels in Lake Mead, the source of the region's drinking water, continue to fall.

Most of the Colorado River water goes to Southern California and other users. Most of the drought-related conservation restrictions already in place throughout Southern Nevada will remain in place, but some will be more restrictive come New Year's Day.

As with the drought watch policies in place now, the water authority will work with the Las Vegas Valley Water District, Clark County and the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City to develop a common ordinance that would be imposed regionally.

Among the major changes:

Local officials insist that Las Vegas must demonstrate leadership in response to the drought.

"This is a serious situation," said Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid, one of three commissioners serving on the seven-member water authority board. "This is another opportunity to let the public know we have a problem."

Commissioner Myrna Williams agreed.

"We have to be ahead of the curve here," she said. "We're giving notice to people in January that more stringent rules will be enforced."

And local governments also will increase the fines applicable for water waste, which now start at $20 for typical residential users.

While the increased drought restrictions signal that the drought continues to affect water tables in Lake Mead, the news from water officials isn't all bad.

One ray of potential sunshine, or cloud of needed precipitation, comes in the form of El Nino, the Pacific Ocean weather system associated with heavy snowfall over the Rocky Mountains, the source of the Colorado River and the water in Lake Mead. Kay Brothers, water authority deputy general manager, said the season got off to a good start with snow in the mountains, but it is too early to tell if it will be a good year.

There are a few early indications that El Nino might be strengthening, which would be good news, Brothers said.

Also good news is that conservation efforts appear to be working. Although October's demand level ticked up about 0.5 percent, water officials say that actually is very good considering that the region experienced its hottest October on record and had no measurable precipitation at all during the month. Adjusting for the weather, they estimate that the demand actually was down about 10 percent.

That is close to matching the federal Bureau of Reclamation's figure of an 8.5 percent reduction.

This year, the region's demand will not likely reach 300,000 acre-feet -- the area's minimum allocation from the federally controlled lake. Ken Albright, water authority resource director, said that means the authority can pump water into the ground and save it for later.

One acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons, or enough water for a typical family for a year.

"We plan on using every drop of water," Albright said. "I hope to put in the ground everything the customers don't need."