Rates for recycled water go up

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 | 9:02 a.m.

The Clark County Commission, acting as the board of the Las Vegas Valley Water District, increased the rates for users of recycled, "nonpotable" water Tuesday.

Those users, among them golf courses, will now pay $1.85 for a thousand gallons of the recycled water, which includes partially treated effluent from the system. The old price was $1.69.

The new price is still much less than the $2.52 per thousand gallons golf courses would typically pay for fresh water from Lake Mead.

The price, district Deputy General Manager Richard Wimmer told the board, could go up again. He said the price changes, unlike many of the district's recent service rule changes, were not directly related to the region's ongoing drought, but because the old rates do not pay for the recycled water service.

The reason that the rates aren't paying enough is that the anticipated level of use, in a time when people are cutting turf back, has not been met, according to the district's projections.

Staff had originally asked the commission to increase the rates to $1.89 effective May 1 and then $2.10 in January, but concerns expressed by the golf course managers prompted the staff to draw the proposed changes back.

Wimmer said the golf course managers are looking at the district's books. The district could come back with recommendations for further increases later this year, he said.

Nick Corey, general manager for the Red Rock Country Club, which uses recycled water, said the industry is looking closely at the water rates at a time when it is difficult for golf courses to make money.

He said the raise was anticipated, but still a tough hit for an industry already battered by water-rate increases on traditional fresh water from Lake Mead.

Todd Bell, Red Rock Country Club golf course superintendent, said the higher rates could cost his club $100,000 a year or more. He noted that his club has removed more than 50 acres of turf in the last year.

"They're forcing us to take out turf, but they're raising our rates on the flip side because we're not using enough of it."