LETTER: More details needed on bill that would limit water use
I read Colton Lochhead’s article regarding the water limitation bill (Assembly Bill 220) moving forward with my jaw dropping (Wednesday’s Review-Journal). The article says that the Southern Nevada Water Authority will limit water use if someone in Washington, D.C., decides to declare a water shortage in Nevada. Why would our Legislature give the federal government that kind of control over our state? Wouldn’t it make more sense that we determine our water needs locally?
The bill would also limit water use to about 163,000 gallons per household. Does this bill consider how many people live in the household, or is it the same limit for all households whether there is one person or eight living in the home? It seems that the limitation would disproportionately affect those who are in lower-income brackets who can’t afford bottled water and those who have multiple generations living in their homes.
The article states that this will affect “only” about 20 percent of homes. That’s one in every five homes. What happens when a home has reached the limit for the year and it is only October?
Sounds like our lawmakers have not thought this one through. Do we need to put a lock on our outdoor water spigots so that our one-in-five neighbors can’t steal our water? Ridiculous.