Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

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For Want <em>of</em> Water

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— Interactive by Zach Wise

Las Vegas was first settled for its springs, springs that made it an oasis in the desert. Although those springs have decades since run dry, water is still the most import resource to Las Vegas and the dry Southwest.

And by all indications the region is only going to get dryer. Scientists predict devastating effects from global warming, conservationists are calling for a halt to growth in Southern Nevada as a way to preserve supplies and water managers are looking to ever more creative ways to reduce reliance on the overburdened Colorado River. A Colorado River reservoir at Lake Mead is the source of 90 percent of the valley's water supply. Water levels there have fallen steadily for nearly a decade.

Now Southern Nevada water managers say they can no longer rely on the river so heavily, and must construct a massive pipeline to draw water stored underground for centuries in rural Nevada to Las Vegas. They say no amount of conservation can replace the need for this backup source of drinking water.

Opponents say the effects of the pumping would be devastating and that the plan would sacrifice a rural, ranching way of life in Eastern Nevada for casinos and tract home in the south.

But it's not only the lack of water that worries environmentalists and water managers alike. It's also water quality, the endangered species that life in Southern Nevada's rivers and streams and the recreation opportunities that make the region's national parks so popular.

Water is one of the most politically charged issues in Nevada today, and it's certainly one of the most important.

Phoebe Sweet

Residential Water Use Interactive

How much water do we use in Las Vegas? Tour the valley to examine residential water consumption in neighborhoods and search the usage for homes in the Sun's water interactive.

Archive highlights

The Equation: No water, no growth

Sun, Jun 15, 2008

The congressman from American Samoa was confused. Could Senator Reid clarify for him again who owned the land around Las Vegas? Nevada? The U.S. government? Bugsy Siegel?

Satiating a booming city

Sun, Jun 1, 2008

How had it come to this? A thriving region of nearly 2 million people was running out of water even as the mighty Colorado River flowed just 30 miles away. ...

The Chosen One

Sun, Jun 8, 2008

The men who manage urban water districts in the West tend to come out of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Who better to understand how and where Western water is ...

Water: The more you use, the more you’ll have to pay

Tue, Apr 8, 2008

The county’s largest water district is adopting “conservation pricing.” The concept is simple: If you want people to use less water, make it more expensive, especially for those who use ...

All stories

Does quest for minerals needed for clean energy endanger water supply?

Mon, Mar 18, 2024

Kevin DesRoberts watches as speckled dace and Amargosa pupfish dart through one of the springs at the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a sight environmentalists are working to save. ...

Northern Nevada ranchers caught between a rock and a dry place

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“Mark Twain said that in Nevada, whiskey is for drinkin’ and water is for fightin’,” said Ira Wines, president and general manager of Ellison Ranching Company. The company, founded ...

Feds release final Colorado river water conservation plan

Tue, Mar 5, 2024

Federal officials have released a final conservation plan to prevent Lake Mead from falling to critically low levels, threatening water delivery and power production at Hoover Dam. The agreement among ...

Water returns to 2021 level, but Lake Mead’s health remains fragile

Mon, Feb 26, 2024

Lake Mead’s water elevation climbed back to 2021 levels this month thanks to winter precipitation and resulting snow melt, but experts stress the challenges of managing the region’s water supply ...

Nevada water law ruling backs state engineer’s powers, further stalls Coyote Springs project

Thu, Feb 15, 2024

Conservationists are calling a recent decision by the Nevada Supreme Court updating the state’s water law a significant victory because the ruling paves the way for the state to restrict ...

Federal agency releases Topock Marsh project info

Mon, Feb 5, 2024

Temporary pumps will supply an important wetland habitat between Arizona and California with 5,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water while the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation builds an $8 million pumping ...

Flamingo Road businesses, freed from F1 bridge, face new dilemma

Fri, Feb 2, 2024

For Randy Markin, it was a day of celebration when the temporary vehicular bridge along East Flamingo Road was finally taken down. After months of down profit due to construction ...

Future low dam’s aim is to prevent erosion in Las Vegas Wash

Mon, Jan 15, 2024

Engineers are taking samples of the Las Vegas Wash’s sandy banks as they prepare for construction of a low dam to prevent erosion caused by water flowing to Lake Mead. ...

Colorado River states are racing to agree on cuts before Inauguration Day

Mon, Jan 8, 2024

The states that rely on the Colorado River, which is shrinking because of climate change and overuse, are rushing to agree on a long-term deal to share the dwindling resource ...

To tackle overpumping crisis, new program offers cash for water rights in Nevada

Fri, Dec 29, 2023

A conservation program financed by the federal government is hoping to lure property owners in parts of Nevada to surrender their groundwater rights, but the eligible landowners must decide before ...

Videos

Dry Town, Dry Future
Dry Town, Dry Future
For 60 years, the town of St. Thomas lay beneath the waters of Lake Mead. ...

Slideshows

Lost and found
The town of St. Thomas was abandoned to the rising waters of Lake Mead in ...
Fighting an invader
A beetle’s selective appetite for tamarisk trees makes it well suited to fight the invasive ...