Sunday, October 26, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Woodbury, Goodman top list in water usage survey

But official warns high total does not always equate to waste

Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman lead the list of local residential water users in a survey of public officials.

But water policy-makers say it is difficult to assess the figures' meaning. High totals do not always equate to waste, while low totals do not necessarily mean a customer is a wise water user.

"Therein lies the great question. Certainly, the larger lot size you have, the more water usage you have," said Vince Alberta, spokesman for the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Las Vegas Valley Water District. "In some instances, you're comparing apples to oranges."

Woodbury consumed 2.18 million gallons of water at his 2 1/4-acre Boulder City home between September 2002 and August 2003, or 2.02 gallons per square foot per month, according to numbers requested by the Review-Journal. Woodbury had the largest lot of those surveyed.

Goodman used 1.6 million gallons of water at his nearly three-quarter-acre Las Vegas home during the same period, or 4.61 gallons per square foot per month.

Other leading consumers when measured by their yearly totals included Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.; water authority General Manager Pat Mulroy; Gov. Kenny Guinn; and Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid. All have residential lots larger than the regional average.

The typical Las Vegas Valley Water District customer consumed 226,212 gallons of water on a 0.18-acre lot in 2002, or 2.5 gallons per square foot per month.

Goodman, Ensign and Reid exceeded the average monthly gallons consumed per square foot. Guinn's home was slightly above that figure. Woodbury and Mulroy's were below it.

Woodbury, a 22-year veteran of the County Commission, has lived with his wife, Rose, in their Boulder City home since early 1980. The five-bedroom, 3 1/2-bathroom house with a swimming pool has hundreds of trees in the southeast corner of the town, which long has encouraged residents to plant trees, shrubs and plants.

"When I was told the (water survey) was requested, I knew I'd be number one because of the size of my lot and the number of trees we have," Woodbury said. "I follow the same rules that apply to everybody. Other than taking out the small amount of grass we have ... there's really not much we can do other than to let a large number of trees die."

Woodbury said he and his wife have "strict rules" for using water at their home. They turn off the faucet while lathering up for showers, and his wife refuses to refill drinking glasses for anyone who has water left in a cup.

"We live in a community that has actively encouraged us to do what we have done," Woodbury said, noting that 1,800 square feet of his 90,169-square-foot property has grass. "We made sure we did it in a way that didn't involve a lot of grass."

Southern Nevada draws 90 percent of its water from the Colorado River, which scientists think has hit its weakest flow level in 500 to 1,000 years. An estimated 70 percent of the region's yearly river allocation is used to irrigate residential landscaping. An additional 16 percent goes to hotel-casinos and golf courses.

Recently adopted drought restrictions throughout the Las Vegas Valley and Boulder City were designed to cut outdoor water waste.

Community activist Ken Mahal has criticized the regional drought conservation plan, arguing that growth, not residential water use, must be slowed to ease local water troubles.

Mahal said he and his wife have desert landscaping at their Las Vegas home and consume about 50,000 gallons of water annually.

"It shows the arrogance of the kingmakers that we have," Mahal said after learning of the survey's results.

Goodman, who has lived in Las Vegas for 40 years, resides in an older section of the city, where larger home sites are common. In recent months, the two-term mayor has become increasingly involved in water issues, particularly from his position on the water authority's board of directors.

He has pushed for increased conservation but opposes efforts to slow regional growth, arguing that such a move would damage Southern Nevada's economy. Instead, he and others have argued that less grass and more desert-style landscaping, or xeriscaping, would conserve water necessary for future growth.

The Las Vegas mayor acknowledges that until a year ago he paid little attention to his residential water usage.

"We who are old-timers here have these beautiful gardens that our spouses have gotten used to and it's very difficult to change your ways," Goodman said. "I haven't rushed to get involved with xeriscape.

"I find myself looking differently at everything now because I'm the mayor. It has convinced me that we have to start educating ourselves and our constituency that we live in a desert ... and we can't use the water the way I was using it last year."

Goodman points to his recent monthly water bills as proof that he has cut his residential consumption, but he refuses to empty a small fish pond in his back yard that has 20 koi, a large, colorful variety of carp.

"I will have my koi pond under any circumstance," Goodman said at a Thursday news conference. "I am willing to commit acts of public disobedience for the koi."

No data were available for three elected officials, Las Vegas City Council members Lynette Boggs McDonald and Michael Mack and U.S. Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., who live in homes or apartments that do not receive individual water bills.

No usage numbers were available for Clark County Commissioner Chip Maxfield, who draws his water from a community well.

Review-Journal reporter Erin Neff contributed to this report.

ONE YEAR WATER USAGE

September 2002 - August 2003 (Gallons in Thousands)
Name	Title	Year Total	Monthly Average	Lot Size (in sq. ft)	Monthly Gallons (per sq. ft)
Vince Alberta*	Southern Nevada Water Authority spokesman	141	11.75	5,663	2.07
Andrea Anderson*	Boulder City Council, SNWA Board	432	36.00	6,970	5.16
Yvonne Atkinson Gates(1)	Clark County Commission, Las Vegas Valley Water District Board	107	10.70	6,098	1.75
Shelley Berkley	U.S. House	545	45.42	8,712	5.21
Dave Berns	Review-Journal reporter	122	10.17	4,356	2.33
Lynette Boggs McDonald(2)	Las Vegas City Council
Kay Brothers*	Deputy General Manager SNWA and LVVWD	440	36.67	10,019	3.66
Larry Brown	Las Vegas City Council	315	26.25	10,019	2.62
Shari Buck(3)	North Las Vegas City Council, SNWA Board	94	15.67	9,583	1.64
Amanda Cyphers*	Henderson City Council, SNWA Board	140	11.67	6,970	1.67
John Ensign	U.S. Senate	944	78.67	23,522	3.34
Oscar Goodman	Las Vegas Mayor, SNWA Board	1,639	136.58	29,621	4.61
Kenny Guinn	Governor	716	59.67	23,087	2.58
Mark James(4)*	Clark County Commission, SNWA and LVVWD Board	265	33.13	11,761	2.82
Mary Kincaid-Chauncey	Clark County Commission, LVVWD Board	378	31.50	24,394	1.29
Michael Mack(2)	Las Vegas City Council
Thomas Mitchell	Review-Journal Editor	466	38.83	19,602	1.98
Janet Moncrief(5)*	Las Vegas City Council	106	53.00	22,651	2.34
Pat Mulroy*	General Manager, SNWA and LVVWD	869	72.42	39,204	1.85
Jon Porter(2)	U.S. House
Gary Reese	Las Vegas City Council	297	24.75	6,355	3.89
Harry Reid	U.S. Senate	55	4.58
Rory Reid	Clark County Commission, SNWA and LVVWD Board	622	51.83	12,632	4.10
Thom Reilly*	Clark County Manager	361	30.08	25,700	1.17
Doug Selby	Las Vegas City Manager	615	51.25	23,087	2.22
Lawrence Weekly	Las Vegas City Council	101	8.42	7,841	1.07
Myrna Williams	Clark County Commission, SNWA and LVVWD Board	151	12.58	8,712	1.44
Richard Wimmer	Deputy General Manager, SNWA and LVVWD	425	35.42	9,583	3.70
Bruce Woodbury	Clark County Commission, LVVWD Board	2,184	182.00	90,169	2.02

(1)Time period is 12/02 - 9/03

(2)No account currently on file

(3)Time period is 4/03 - 9/03

(4)Time period is 1/03 - 8/03

(5)Time period is 8/03 - 9/03

*Removing or recently removed turf