Thursday, November 20, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Las Vegas water usage rises in October despite drought measures

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Despite the drought-fighting effort to cut water consumption, customers of local agencies used 0.5 percent more water in October than in October 2002.

Southern Nevada Water Authority officials attributed the increase to last month's record high temperatures and lower-than-normal rainfall.

Customers of the water authority's seven member agencies sliced their actual usage by 11.1 percent in September before the October jump.

The totals are the first measures of residential and commercial consumption since "drought watch" watering restrictions were adopted this summer.

Southern Nevada Water Authority analysts studied the figures for several weeks before the release of the numbers, leaving the agency's top official seeking ways to reverse the split results.

"I'm pleased with September, but I've learned something from the October numbers. If it gets warmer, even though people can water only three times a week, they will water a lot those three times," said water authority General Manager Pat Mulroy, referring to yard irrigation limits that expired Oct. 31. The current limit is one day a week through February.

The October consumption surge could prompt water authority bosses to recommend the adoption of time limits on the watering of grass, trees and shrubs.

"I'm not faulting anybody. For me it's an education. We're learning how everybody's responding," Mulroy continued. "Obviously people got concerned in October, and they watered a lot."

That increase could have reached 10 percent without the watering restrictions, she noted.

October's average record temperature of 75.4 degrees was 6.7 degrees above normal, according to National Weather Service readings at McCarran International Airport. No rain fell during the month, tying the region's all-time record, according to the weather service.

October 2002 saw an average temperature of 67.4 degrees and total precipitation of 0.32 inches.

Seasonally adjusted figures, which account for year-to-year changes in temperature and rainfall, show a 10.1 percent decline in October water consumption and a 10.2 percent drop for September.

Local water agencies are seeking a 10 percent yearly decline in consumption to battle the five-year drought.

Regional water providers are battling a mix of perceptions and misperceptions on the part of Southern Nevadans.

"I've had a neighbor tell me (water officials) were purposely lowering the water supply to Lake Mead because of something about sediment settling on the bottom and they wanted to find out what's down there," said northwest Las Vegas resident Bobbie Unick. "Everybody else is expressing concern about there being a drought, but at the same time I've had people tell me desert landscaping is just not for them. I've heard a lot of that."

The water authority's board of directors is expected today to designate Jan. 1 as the start of a "drought alert," prompting even tougher watering restrictions.

That move would be forced by federal officials, who are expected to cut Southern Nevada's surplus haul from the river by 50 percent at the start of the year if Lake Mead's surface sits less than 1,145 feet above sea level. The Colorado River-fed lake was at 1,140.4 feet Wednesday afternoon.

Southern Nevada is permitted to consume 300,000 acre feet of Colorado River water annually. An acre foot would cover an acre of land to a depth of 1 foot and provides enough water for a household of four to five people.

Last year, Southern Nevada received federal permission to take 330,000 acre feet of water. But the falling water level will cut that figure to a maximum of 315,000 acre feet for the coming year.

In reality, the region consumed nearly 470,000 acre feet a year ago but received credits for treated water that was returned to the lake, bringing Southern Nevada to that 330,000-acre-foot figure.

The Jan. 1 start of a drought alert would lead to prohibitions against the installation of lawns for new homes, the use of commercial and residential misting systems and the washing of cars at houses and apartment complexes. Sundays would no longer be eligible for the optional watering of outdoor landscaping in the fall, winter and spring.

Lake Mead provides 90 percent of Southern Nevada's water supply and sits at slightly less than 60 percent of capacity, leaving a growing white ring that hovers above the waterline. The lake is reeling from the effects of depressed snowpack in Wyoming and Colorado, which feeds the seven states of the Colorado River basin.

The water authority's Mulroy said she is optimistic about the November water consumption totals, which remain to be tallied.

"Thankfully," she said, "it's been very cool."