The Water Information Program

Conservation efforts saved Southern Nevada 18 billion gallons of water annually from 2002 to 2006 — a 20 percent reduction during a period when nearly 330,000 more residents moved in and 40 million tourists visited. Nevadans have cut five billion gallons a year just on the turf they've dug up since 2003, when the Southern Nevada Water Authority started paying people $1 a square foot to get rid of their grass so they wouldn't have to water it. The 26 golf clubs alone tore out 472 acres, the equivalent of five 18-hole courses. Ultimately, conservation will fall short, said Pat Mulroy, general manager of both the Las Vegas Valley Water District and of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Southern Nevada must find new ways to bring in water, she said. A complex plan hammered out by the states along the Colorado River and expected to be signed by the secretary of interior next month will do that. It allows the Southern Nevada Water Authority to pipe water from the Muddy, a short river about 60 miles northeast of Las Vegas; the Virgin, a long tributary of the Colorado; and the Coyote Spring Basin northeast of the city. As part of the seven-state agreement, Nevada will help pay for a reservoir in Southern California. The plan is supposed to ensure that Lake Mead doesn't fall below a minimum level.

To view the full article, visit the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For a copy of the original article contact the WIP at (970) 247-1302 or stop by the office at 841 East Second Avenue in Durango.