Monday, May 31, 2021 | 2 a.m.
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The May 26 letter to the editor, “Cherish state’s natural wonders,” and editorial, “With plan to quench its thirst for vanity, Utah thumbs its nose at dry neighbors,” demonstrate a left-hand-not-speaking-with-the-right-hand phenomena.
Correctly, the editorial criticizes growth using Colorado River water by the new Lake Powell pipeline during a drought. And correctly, the letter praises preserving Red Rock Canyon.
But lost in the details is the devil. What is that devil?
The devil in the details is that to preserve Red Rock Canyon, the Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act (SNEDCA) law would also carve out 30,633 acres for 820,000 new people to have new homes using 36,000 acre-feet per year of new water. That would come from non-functional turf removal on 5,000 acres in Las Vegas.
And this growth would be rural, therefore traffic congestion and increased demand for access to Red Rock Canyon would all result from these legislative acts.
So is Las Vegas any better than Utah? Growth is growth. Water is water. Drought is drought.
How about this? No new growth in Las Vegas on Red Rock land. All new growth on urban infill using existing water, and save water by appropriate non-functional turf removal too.
Las Vegas can not criticize Utah if it supports bad growth at Red Rock by supporting AB356 and SNEDCA.
