Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 | 2 a.m.
Another view?
View more of the Las Vegas Sun's opinion section:
• Editorials - the Sun's viewpoint.
• Columnists - local and syndicated writers.
• Letters to the editor - readers' views.
Have your own opinion? Write a letter to the editor.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority spends thousands of dollars on ads telling the community to conserve water — grow rocks, not grass!
Yet, local leaders, in all their wisdom, allow multiple water parks to be built in the course of the next year. Where will all this water come from?
It seems as though there is no thought to the environment in the Las Vegas Valley. Granted, the parks will hire a good number of seasonal employees, but is it worth the drain on our water supply? So much for the idea of conservation.
Recently, during the rain spell we had here, I saw some of the PUBLIC watering systems locally still working along with the steady rainfall. Lunacy! Our public service and utility employees give lip service to conservation and then fall on their faces with follow through.
CarmineD
Let's not forget the millions spent on the Springs Preserve by the LVVWA. I'm all for preserving the history of Las Vegas, but where is it written that the water authority should be the one to spend millions on it? Is there no limit as to what unelected, unaccountable, pencil-pushing bureaucratic drones can do with our money? Apparently not!
If you are going to argue the credibility of a water park in any desert climate, then to be fair, you need to look at many other water uses and their necessity as well.
.
Golf Courses. We have tons in Vegas, they all use water. Some, not all use recycled water. However, the usage is primarily for wealthier adults and a fairly limited niche all things considered.
.
5000 sq feet and up houses that aren't desert landscaped. According to a 2009 article in the RJ, your own Daniel Greenspun was the third biggest user of water in the valley, at a whopping 8.8 million gallons. I don't recall ever being invited to his home, and it's fairly safe to assume most of you haven't either, so that's 8.8 million gallons utilized for the sake of a single family.
.
There is no question that a Water park is a fun time for those who care to attend one, and more importantly, it's a venue that invites a family demographic. They are usually fairly affordable, allow you to spend the entire day there, and give kids something to do other then intensify their carpal tunnel playing Halo.
.
If you want to decry water waste and unfair usage, there are far worse offenders then a water park.
All offenders and future offenders should be seriously limited in water use if they fail to comply. This is a future survival issue, not some illusion!
Eventually, there will be automatic shut offs by the water company when full rationing takes place.
The fast buck now will effect businesses of all kinds in the future, as well as depopulation. That will be a serious economic hit to the LV Valley.
Wise up!
1 - To the author - SNWA promotes desert landscaping which is a beautiful living landscape that is an alternative to grass, this is much more than rocks. I've seen some very nice examples of this in your own Boulder City.
2 - To CarmineD - There are probably hundreds of parks in which ever city you are talking about and only a couple dozen workers, I'm sure there would be an outcry over the salary cost just to have each worker split up and drive to 20+ parks to turn the water off just to drive back and turn it back on again later. Often times cost outweighs any desire to fix known problems.
3- To lvfacts101 - there is no such organization as the LVVWA, there is the SNWA which does all the conservation stuff and the LVVWD which runs the Springs Preserve.
4 - To anchorbine - there are less than 50 golf courses in the valley. Builders have taken care of the 5000 square foot home by not building them, to make as much many as possible they build homes as small as possible to fit in their land and have done this for decades. So, the only ones left are older homes. I assume you would have a different view on the situation if someone knocked on your door and told you that you were required to change your landscaping at your own expense