Editorial: Drought plan saving more than water

Thursday, Oct. 28, 2004 | 8:57 a.m.

Local governments and the Southern Nevada Water Authority became more aggressive about water conservation two years ago. It had become obvious that the drought, which began affecting all of the Southwest in the late 1990s, would continue for many more years. With the level of Lake Mead, Southern Nevada's source of water, about 70 feet below normal, and with population rising by about 75,000 a year, it was time to get serious about conservation.

Early results are now in and this fact is clear: When residents, the water authority and local governments cooperate, conservation works. At a meeting of a water authority advisory committee this week, it was learned that water use in 2003 decreased 20 percent from 2002 -- enough to fill 2,300 Olympic-sized swimming pools. This rate of reduction is holding steady for 2004.

It was also learned that the water authority's overall conservation goal is well on its way to being met ahead of schedule. With 1990 set as the benchmark year, the goal is a 25 percent reduction in water usage by 2010. With the gains made over the past two years, the reduction is already at 23.1 percent. Much of the improvement is owing to the participation of residents in the water authority's program to replace grass with desert landscaping. With a $1-per-square foot rebate as incentive for property owners, 43.3 million square feet of grass have been replaced.

The necessity for conservation was driven home at the meeting by a rancher from White Pine County, who expressed concern over a water authority plan to pipe groundwater from the rural counties to supplement our water from Lake Mead. The water authority has been pursuing this plan for more than 10 years, as a way to ensure Southern Nevada's water supply in the coming decades. The more successful our conservation, the longer we can go without this plan, which would cost billions for the pipelines and might cost our rural neighbors their livelihoods.