Las Vegas Strip Fountains Could Be Banned Beneath New Proposal
Posted on: August 26, 2022, 12:26h. 
Last updated on: August 26, 2022, 12:37h.
The government physique overseeing Las Vegas’ water provide has announced that it is “in the approach of considering” a ban on all new man-produced fountains and lakes on the Las Vegas Strip and everywhere else in the area. The ban, if voted by way of by the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) board, could take impact as early as October 2022.
The SNWA stated its board will vote on its fountain ban and other proposals anytime the current public comment period is more than.
Its other proposals consist of slashing water allocations for Las Vegas golf courses by a third starting in 2024. Golf courses are at present restricted to six.three acre-feet of water per irrigated acre annually. The new proposal would reduce that allocation to 4-acre feet. An acre-foot of water is 325,900 gallons, or enough to provide two households of four for a year.
All existing water characteristics would be grandfathered in through the proposal. This implies the Bellagio fountains are protected from the ban. Any new indoor water features on the Strip would also be allowed below the proposal.
In addition, water attributes at the Bellagio and Wynn Las Vegas have an added layer of immunity from future water bans. They draw element of their water supply from groundwater pumped from their own wells. This water is not regulated by the SNWA or its regional member agency, the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD).
Consequences for Leading Water Customers
A flyer distributed recently by the SNWA threatened to target Las Vegas’ biggest water customers with “water rate actions in response to unprecedented circumstances.” Excessive use charges could be levied as early as January 2023.
The LVVWD’s Prime ten industrial water users in 2021 have been:
- The Venetian
- Mandalay Bay
- Caesars Palace
- Wynn Las Vegas
- Angel Park Golf Club
- Red Rock Golf Club
- MGM Grand
- Southern Highlands Golf Club
- The Cosmopolitan
- Summerlin Council
The Bellagio squeaked in at No. 11.
Restrictions Adhere to Fed-Ordered Cuts
The proposed restrictions comply with the US Bureau of Reclamation’s recent announcement that Nevada’s water allocation from the Colorado River — at 300,000 acre-feet is the smallest of all seven states that use it — will be cut by 8% subsequent year. That would mean an allocation of 276,000-acre feet of water in 2023.
The excellent news is that, in 2021, Nevada only employed 242,000-acre feet. Southern Nevada’s water usage declined 26% amongst 2002 and 2021, according to the LVVWD, regardless of 750,000 new residents and almost 40 million annual visitors.
Nevertheless, Nevada has pledged to reduce its take by 25,000 acre feet subsequent year.
3 years of intense drought and two decades of long-term drought have severely reduced the water provide from the Colorado River, which is distributed via Lake Mead to 40 million individuals in the West and supports $1.four trillion in annual financial activity.
Currently, Southern Nevada receives 90% of its water from Lake Mead, which is now only 27% complete. The other 10% comes from groundwater.