EDITORIAL: Navigating the rapids on the mighty Colorado

Mark Twain is often credited with noting that “Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting.” Whether apocryphal or not, the old maxim neatly encapsulates the value of the precious commodity that drives the fortunes of communities in the western United States.

Over the past week, the Review-Journal has presented a comprehensive seven-part series by reporter Henry Brean on the Colorado River, the lifeblood of the Southwest. The package is a must-read for those seeking to educate themselves on the issues of growth and water, particularly in arid Las Vegas.

Among residents of the West, water use often becomes muddied in misinformation and emotion that can cloud debate and distort policy. But it’s worth remembering a number of key points highlighted by Mr. Brean:

■ The Colorado River was over-allocated. Despite worsening conditions on the river — drought, warming — shortages were always inevitable because the 1922 seven-state compact that governs the system doles out more water than the river’s actual annual flow. This would seem to be a compelling reason to address the fundamental structural deficiences in the nearly 100-year-old agreement, but that is an absolute nonstarter politically. In recent years, lower-basin states have shown a willingness to work together to ensure resources are used more wisely — and such collaboration is crucial to the region’s long-term prosperity.

■ While Strip fountains, golf courses and residential swimming pools garner plenty of attention as examples of waste, agricultural users drain the most water from the Colorado. About 75 percent of diversions sustain farmers, many of them growing water-intensive crops in the desert or arid climes. Cities use just 20 percent of the flow. That means Las Vegas and Southern Nevada account for a minuscule percentage of Colorado River water use, dwarfed by Phoenix or Southern California. Nevertheless, Clark County has made impressive strides when it comes to conservation. Many decorative water features use recycled gray water, as do many golf courses. Efforts by local water officials to urge homeowners to replace turf with desert landscaping have also cut the valley’s water usage significantly. In the past decade, Mr. Brean reports, the Las Vegas area has added about 650,000 residents while cutting overall water use by 26 percent. Per capita water use in Southern Nevada has dropped 36 percent since 2002. Maintaining this trajectory is vital if the community is to successfully navigate the future.

■ The idea that Southern Nevada must pull up the drawbridge and impose a moratorium on new construction in order to manage its water supply — a commonly articulated theme — is misguided. Not only would such policies drastically upend the state and local economy, they are simply unnecessary. There is room for smart growth. “Through moderate shortages, our existing resources plus our banked resources are sufficient through 2068,” said John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. “And in a deep drought, where we were required to take twice the current federally mandated shortage every year, then our Colorado River resources and our temporary resources are sufficient to get us through the mid-2040s with additional conservation.”

Ultimately, the key to managing a stressed Colorado River will be increased cooperation among the basin states, continued conservation, technological innovation and — to the greatest extent possible — an increasing reliance on market forces and pricing to ensure the most efficient allocation of the world’s most invaluable resource.

The future of Las Vegas and Southern Nevada— along with the entire Southwest — depends upon it.