Water District budget approved

Tuesday, May 18, 2004 | 9:40 a.m.

The Clark County Commission on Monday approved a $400.2 million budget for the Las Vegas Valley Water District.

The budget includes nearly $94 million for the purchase of water from the regional wholesaler, $39 million for new capital expenses and $49.3 million for bond payments. Operating expenses will be $213.3 million in the coming fiscal year, up a little more than 1 percent from the current year.

The board members of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the regional wholesaler and the district's sister agency will consider their $476.6 million annual budget Thursday.

Carey Casey, the Water District finance director, said the total includes money for 30 new district-funded positions at the agency. The district also is spending money to respond to five years of drought that threaten the region's water supply, and Casey said that means making the water-delivery system more efficient.

The district will spend $10 million to install automatic water meter readers in the system, which supplies water to 1 million people throughout unincorporated Clark County and Las Vegas. The automatic readers, which transmit information electronically to moving vehicles, allow the district's engineers to identify leaks and efficiency problems and correct those problems quickly, Casey said.

The district will spend another $4.75 million replacing pipes with a high rate of failure, he said, in another water-saving move.