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Where does the water for The Lakes come from?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 | 2 a.m.
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Mr. Sun,
Where does the water for The Lakes come from?
•••
The man-made body of water that gives the community its name is filled with tap water.
Like Mr. Sun’s Members Only jacket, the lake south of Sahara Avenue and west of Durango Drive is, according to water officials, a relic of the mid-1980s.
When construction began on The Lakes, local governments justified and maintained their allocation of Colorado River water by using it — all of it. A man-made lake was considered as good a use as any at the time.
The creation of the Southern Nevada Water Authority changed that equation, bringing a regional approach to water use and tougher conservation laws.
“You can divide the valley between that which was built before the early 1990s and afterward,” said Water Authority spokesman J.C. Davis. “The new Las Vegas is infinitely more efficient than the old Las Vegas.”
The changes included less turf, drip irrigation and low-flow plumbing fixtures. The authority didn’t have to ban man-made lakes. The state Legislature took care of that in 1989.
(To support the point that their strategy has worked, water officials say that as 400,000 new residents moved here over the past six years, annual water use declined by 20.5 billion gallons.)
The Water Authority still fields angry calls from residents wondering why The Lakes continues to exist in a valley where you can get a ticket for watering your lawn on the wrong day.
But Davis said there isn’t a simple solution.
“People bought property there in 1983 and the value is based, in part, on it being near a lake, whether it should have ever existed in the first place or not,” he said. “If you drain the lake you’re going to gut these property values. It’s not something you can be cavalier about.”
Questions for Mr. Sun can be sent to page8@lasvegassun.com.
Discussion: 11 comments so far…
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Excellent story, can you help me to undrstand what this all means:
The river Gila, and the part of the Rio Bravo del Norte lying below the southern boundary of New Mexico, being, agreeably to the fifth article, divided in the middle between the two republics, the navigation of the Gila and of the Bravo below said boundary shall be free and common to the vessels and citizens of both countries; and neither shall, without the consent of the other, construct any work that may impede or interrupt, in whole or in part, the exercise of this right; not even for the purpose of favoring new methods of navigation. Nor shall any tax or contribution, under any denomination or title, be levied upon vessels or persons navigating the same or upon merchandise or effects transported thereon, except in the case of landing upon one of their shores. If, for the purpose of making the said rivers navigable, or for maintaining them in such state, it should be necessary or advantageous to establish any tax or contribution, this shall not be done without the consent of both Governments.
The stipulations contained in the present article shall not impair the territorial rights of either republic within its established limits.
Can it be understood that the water flowing in NV might be diverted because of this! can anyone explain?
well, we're filling in one of our 'ponds' at LVCC, being judicial with it by continuing to analyze all water use...plus our water is from a deep well, living off of our land, not colorado's
That explains why the fish in the man made lake have herpes. But do not fret, like swine flu, humans can not get the virus.
GunslingerA10 is referencing The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and his comments "Can it be understood that the water flowing in NV might be diverted because of this!" have no basis in geological science and perpetuates at best a myth and at worst a fraud.
get your packing boxes - some of us will have to move in a few years because there won't be enough water - may you go in peace!
In the GCC it cost more for drinking water than fuel, a liter of benzene cost about 22 cents, while a liter of drinking water is about 80 cents.
The manmade lakes in The Shores, The Lakes and Lake Las Vegas could ALL be replaced with xeriscaped 'green belts' that permit foot traffic as the hiking trails in west Summerlin do. That would uphold or increase real estate values. Right now the residents at The Shores have no access to the lakes unless they own property bordering them.
The overly optimistic Treaty referenced by 'gunslinger' was written at a time when the canals around the Great Lakes were being built. As a native of Albuquerque,NM I can assure you that the Rio Grande is nearly a dry streambed during late summer and can be walked across. Navigation for the transport of goods or people is a laughable idea & always has been during my lifetime (and my parents: 130 yrs +).Obviously the law was drafted by Easterners during a time of massive exploitation and needs to be rewritten because Mexico is a victim of our misguided and outdated policies even more than we are.
I understand why the man made lakes exist but expain why the areas like the Lakes & Desert Shores have water running down their gutters every day all day long, seems like some man made streams came with those lakes??
I am not sure about the Desert Shores but I know that "The Lake" at "The Lakes" community is a haven for all types of waterfowl, turtles, migratory birds and endangered species of fish. "Green belting" it would be a tragedy for all lakes residents and people around the lake that enjoy the parks, restaurants, boating, sailing, kayaking and other activities. I disagree with NoNukes comment that it would increase property values. It would not. Walking trails can be made anywhere in the country, "The Lake" is a jewel and is paid for by it's residents and the people who have embraced it's lifestyle and beauty, not to mention it's conservation efforts and wildlife attributes.
Lets not make Las Vegas into Brooklyn.
There are a couple of myths perpetuated in this story. First, J.C. gets away with claiming the SNWA is concerned about conservation. In the most recent "conservation plan" draft from his agency, the authors couldn't even properly identify the federal Environmental Protection Agency and relied on supernatural intervention to achieve any conservation at all, especially as SNWA member communities continue to approve artificial lakes and slash funding for water waste enforcement and conservation programs.
Secondly, because that water in the Lakes is a shared resource, we all pay for the high property values enjoyed by the millionaires with "waterfront" homes. We are all paying for a shared resource to be used and abused by a handful of people - but that's the SNWA way.
The SNWA "conservation plan," you all will remember, is to defoliate and destroy rural Nevada and Utah by mining the groundwater and pumping it down to fill up artificial basins such as the Lakes and Lake Las Vegas. Working families without access to those sparkling cesspools will pick up the multi-billion-dollar price tag.
We keep hearing from the bleeders how the rich pay most of the taxes and are overtaxed. Ya, right. Here's another sterling example of the little guy picking up the tab for the rich guy. Let's not forget Lake Las Vegas or the golf course lakes. Recently I read an article in the Mesquite paper where they claimed their average golf course uses 1.5 million gallons of water per day in summer. Droughts have lowered Lake Mead and many other lakes in the west, yet there are thousands of golf courses in the desert sucking those millions of gallons every day. According to Golflink, in the dry states of AZ,NV,UT,CA,NM, there are 1,907 golf courses. Granted not all are in desert or dry areas, but most are and this does not count the courses in OR,WA,CO, that are located in dry areas. Golf is mainly a sport for the well to do so here's another example of subsidizing the rich few to destroy the future for the rest of us. I play golf, but not in the desert.