Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003 | 9:20 a.m.
More than a month after drought restrictions took effect in Las Vegas, 25 fountains -- in office parks, businesses and at the Fremont Street Experience -- will continue operating until at least November.
However, most -- if not all -- are expected to be shut off, as soon as a new ordinance that further limits the use of commercial fountains makes the rounds of the local governments that are members of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Clark County is scheduled to take up its ordinance at its Tuesday meeting, and could take a final vote by Oct. 21.
Las Vegas, which began the discussion when an office park asked for an exemption at the Sept. 3 council meeting, is to introduce the new ordinance at the next meeting, Oct. 15, and could approve it by early November.
"It is this (fountain restriction) section of the ordinance that has proven to be the most challenging to enforce in a uniform manner," said Las Vegas City Manager Doug Selby, who reported on the drought rules to his council Wednesday.
The Water Authority, which is made up of water providers and local jurisdictions in the Las Vegas Valley, created the drought policy, which took effect in different parts of the region starting late summer. While the authority sets overall policy, it is up to the individual jurisdictions to implement it.
The portion of the policy dealing with fountains, which is one of 12 categories addressed in the conservation plan, allowed the continued operation of water features "vital to a core economic function." It included a list of items that fall under that description -- including water features "integral or vital to an entertainment venue." That was meant to exempt Strip resorts, such as the Bellagio's fountains that draw crowds of spectators. But the ordinance did not limit the interpretation of "core economic function."
"That opens a lot of doors as to the interpretation of a core economic function," Selby said. "If office parks are not allowed (to have fountains ) in Las Vegas, they should not be (allowed) in Henderson, North Las Vegas ... that's where everyone wants to be."
The new policy allows everything previously approved -- for example, recreational water parks -- but limits fountains to resorts, eliminating apartments, planned communities, commercial properties and office parks. It does contain provisions for allowing water to stay in fountains so pump seals don't dry and crack, and for allowing machinery to run during freezing temperatures so pipes don't burst.
Most of the 25 applications filed in the city are for office parks, residential and commercial use, a marked contrast with unincorporated Clark County, where the bulk of the 28 fountain exemption requests come from Strip resorts.
In all cases, fountains for which exemptions have been requested continue to operate while those applications are being processed, said Amy Kremenek, spokeswoman with the authority.
Las Vegas Councilman Larry Brown said he didn't mind leaving the fountains running while developing a tighter definition of "core economic function."
"It's so much more effective when the regional body creates the umbrella policy so the member agencies can build consistency into their respective ordinances," he said. "If someone is criticizing (that) we're giving waivers or holding off on policy implementation for weeks, I don't mind that as long as everyone is buying into the long term conservation effort."
Henderson has six requests for fountain exemptions, all from homeowners' associations, said Dennis Porter, assistant director for utility services. All can continue running until a decision is made, he said, although "I think some have chosen not to (operate)." He said his city is likely to consider closing the exemption option in early November.
North Las Vegas did not have any such requests.
North Las Vegas City Manager Greg Rose said he's heard the discussion about what is a "core economic function." His city's response is simple: "We will look at the definition that everyone uses throughout the valley for core economic function, and then if we receive an exemption we believe meets that, then yes, an exemption would be appropriate."
It's a politically touchy issue, involving as it does gaming and development, two of the most potent forces in the valley, and the no-less powerful but far more diffused force of resident voters. It requires balancing economics, aesthetics and conservation between multiple jurisdictions and a highly complex set of factors -- for example, the conservation policy has 12 elements, seven of which are open to varying degrees of interpretation and affect different groups of people at different levels.
In raw terms, the fountains may not use huge amounts of water as measured by other uses like landscaping or indoor plumbing. But they are optional amenities and highly visible, and so how to deal with them creates "a perception issue," said Ken Albright, Water Authority director of resources.
The overriding goal is changing behaviors on a mass scale and moving toward water conservation, something that appears to be working. By the end of this year, Las Vegas' water demand is expected to total 277,000 acre-feet, down from 325,000 acre-feet last year.
The fountain exemption issue came up in the city Sept. 3, when two applicants -- the Quail Park office complex and the Fremont Street Experience -- asked Las Vegas City Council for waivers from the fountain rules. Fremont Street officials attempted to compare its relatively small fountains to those of the Strip, while at Quail Park, operators argued that their water feature is a core economic function.
"We do not simply have a fountain out front, but virtually every office is positioned on or near the waterscapes," wrote Jan Bernard, CEO of Pine Development, in Sept. 23 a letter to the mayor and council members. "The water features clearly serve a core economic function to our park because without the water features, many of our existing tenants likely will not renew their leases."
Her group offered to make reductions elsewhere to equal more than the amount of water that would be saved by turning the fountains off, a proposal to which Brown appeared sympathetic.
However, that carries with it another set of problems -- if a company installed desert landscaping to begin with, it may not be able to show offsetting savings in the same way a turf-heavy complex could. In effect, that would penalize the first company for starting out conserving water.
After Selby's presentation to Las Vegas City Council Wednesday, Brown asked for a mechanism so that such proposals could be evaluated. Councilman Gary Reese also asked if they might include mister exemptions in the discussion, citing a request by the Chelsea Outlet Mall to maintain a system.
Selby said he would take the items -- which already had been discussed when the ordinance first was being developed -- back to the coordinating committee of the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
Mayor Oscar Goodman said he does not favor any exemptions, and over the last month has stated that there must be consistency across the valley.
"It's symbolic ... there needs to be a community effort," Goodman said. If office parks or businesses operate highly visible fountains, "it's hard to tell my neighbors they can't have theirs ... it's hard to tell my wife she can't have her garden."
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