Summerlin lawyer sues water district over excessive use fees

Sam Castor regrets shelling out $50,000 to rip out the grass at his Summerlin home to install artificial turf. But it was a last resort to get the Las Vegas Valley Water District off his lawn.

Castor filed a legal challenge Tuesday in Clark County District Court against the water district’s punitive and controversial excessive use fees. The Las Vegas lawyer alleges that the water district unfairly jacked up his water bills 500 percent and failed to establish a required appeal process, violating its service contract to customers and both the Nevada and U.S. constitutions.

“I think they’re trying to point the finger at everybody else, so nobody points the finger at them,” Castor said in a Tuesday interview. “I don’t mind being that one guy that points the finger back.”

In total, from April to September of last year, the water district charged Castor $1,755 in excessive use fees, according to the legal filing.

Water managers put in place the tall fee structure in 2023 in an effort to rein in the top 10 percent of water users who aren’t receptive to conservation outreach. In that first year alone, the water district raked in $32 million, with funds earmarked for further water conservation efforts.

A water district spokesman declined to comment on Castor’s lawsuit, citing its policy of not discussing litigation.

‘Judge, jury and executioner’

At the top of the yearly high water user list are usually casino bigwigs or figures like the Sultan of Brunei. Not families like Castor’s.

Rather than having some sort of grandfather clause for longterm residents as St. George, Utah, does, all customers are charged $9 per 1,000 gallons used over a limit that varies by month. The fees don’t apply to customers of the Henderson or North Las Vegas water districts.

“Acting under color of Nevada state law and behind the noble shield of ‘encouraging water conservation,’ LVVWD has appointed itself the judge, jury and executioner for yards, foliage and trees,” the lawsuit says.

When Castor first got hit with the fees on his bill, he hired a contractor to assess his house for a leak that was never found.

He inquired about an appeals process that didn’t exist, and had the water district look at his water meter five separate times with no luck in identifying a malfunction. Castor was denied a hearing, according to the filing, because the water district said he was improperly watering his grass on Sundays.

The water district offered him $1,500 to commit to never planting grass on his property again, and he declined it.

Having lived in the desert his whole life, Castor said he understands water conservation and why it’s important. Yet he feels that grass and trees are a necessary part of desert living to stay cool.

“If the Las Vegas Valley Water District continues to abuse its power, it’s going to erode people’s trust,” Castor said. “It’s crazy for them to say we’re wasting water when we’re just watering our grass.”

Class action suit could be coming

And this might not be the last time the courtroom sees a fight over excessive use fees.

Castor is working with the Water Fairness Coalition — a neighborhood group founded in response to the excessive use fee structure — to potentially get customers’ money back in a class action lawsuit. Castor said he plans to use any money he makes off the current lawsuit for the class action.

Laura McSwain, who founded the Water Fairness Coalition nonprofit in response to the excessive use fees, said she has spoken with several of her 1,000 or so registered members who would be interested in joining the lawsuit. Her nonprofit regularly comments at public meetings and now works with legislators on potential reform.

McSwain said Castor’s lawsuit is a product of the water district’s tendency to ignore concerned residents, many of whom didn’t speak up about their high bills until her group gave them a platform. Castor’s story of being stonewalled by the water district is not unique, she said.

“I’m sorry that it’s come to this,” McSwain said, “but here we are.”

Castor said he worries about the headlines that warn of turf burning children’s feet and hands, and some types of the turf contributing to cancer risk.

“The water district treats people like a dollar sign instead of a human,” said Castor, a father of five. “My goal is to make them treat people like people.”

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.