Water bills might increase in Southern Nevada if $3B plan approved

A $3 billion package of water projects recommended for approval by the Southern Nevada Water Authority this month could raise average residential bills by $10, while providing a boost to the Apex Industrial Park in North Las Vegas.

The package was approved by the Integrated Resource Planning Advisory Committee, and the authority’s board will consider the matter at its meeting on March 19.

“This is the Southern Nevada Water Authority ensuring that our community not only has water resources available going forward, but also the infrastructure to meet those water demands over the next half-century,” authority spokesman Bronson Mack said.

The projects would be funded with a combination of loans and rate increases, including connection charges for developers, as well as infrastructure and water-use charges for all valley water consumers over a six-year period.

According to the recommendation report, the proposed charges have not kept pace with inflation. After the phase-in period, charges would be tied to inflation. A typical home’s monthly bill could increase by nearly $10, according to the draft report.

Two of the projects on the list could breathe life into the Apex Industrial Park.

If approved, the area could get a water system consisting of 18 miles of pipeline, a reservoir and pumping stations to take water out to the park. The anticipated investment in Apex would come out to about $250 million. A proposed wastewater system would serve Apex with 40 miles of pipeline that would take the area’s wastewater to a treatment plant, where it could be returned to Lake Mead.

“This is the solution we’ve been seeking for decades,” North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee said about the project in January at his annual State of the City address.

Apex’s success hinges on infrastructure, and if adopted, the committee’s recommendation would be a significant investment in the industrial park.

Gina Gavan, chief innovation officer for North Las Vegas, said the water project would be robust enough to allow full buildout at Apex. “This will really be a game changer for the valley,” she said.

Other projects include a major water transmission line in the southern part of the valley that would come at an estimated cost of nearly $1.6 billion. It would have the capacity to move more than 400 million gallons per day.

The committee also recommended the creation of a system to take Boulder City’s wastewater to Henderson’s treatment plant. Currently, a majority of Boulder City’s wastewater is sent to evaporation ponds, according to Mack.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.