Lawmakers in Nevada are discussing a bill that would give the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which manages the Colorado River supply to Las Vegas, permanent jurisdiction over residential water usage.
If the bill is approved, Nevada will be the first state to give a water agency such powers. The move comes as the key reservoirs on the Colorado River, which provides water to roughly 40 million people in the US and Mexico, have sunk to their lowest levels on record due to deepening drought, climate change, and demand.
Las Vegas, which relies on the river for 90% of its water supply, has already lost about 8% of that supply due to mandatory cuts.
The bill proposes limiting water usage in single-family homes to 160,000 gallons annually, incorporating homes with septic systems into the city’s sewer system, and providing funding for the effort.
The largest water users, who consume more than the average home’s 130,000 gallons of water per year, would feel the impact of the proposed limits.
The authority has not yet decided how it would implement or enforce the proposed limits, which would not automatically go into effect.
Nevada lawmakers previously banned ornamental grass at office parks and in street medians and entrances to housing developments two years ago.
This past summer, Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, capped the size of new swimming pools at single-family residential homes to about the size of a three-car garage.
Municipal water use is a relatively small percentage of overall Colorado River use, but with populations growing and future water supplies uncertain due to climate change, policymakers are exploring all available options to manage water supplies.
The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Assemblyman Howard Watts of Las Vegas, called the bill a “worst-case scenario plan” that ensures “we prioritize the must-haves for a home: your drinking water, your basic health and safety needs.”
He expressed hope that other municipalities that have been hesitant to clamp down on residential water use will follow suit as “good stewards of the river” with even deeper cuts to the Colorado River supply looming.
»Nevada Lawmakers Discuss Giving Water Agency Power to Limit Residential Water Use«
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