Thirsty Las Vegas warms to authentic desert look

LAS VEGAS – How worried is this city getting about water? Tom Warden answers the question by driving the streets of a sprawling community on its western edge.

He passes a gleaming row of homes abiding by a strict new rule: no lawns.

He points to sculpted fountains, built to give the place a touch of class: turned off indefinitely.

He stops by a traffic circle carpeted with about 100,000 square feet of lush green grass: to be replaced with rocks and desert plants.

“This problem is coming at us like a freight train,” said Warden, a vice president for the developer of this community of 34,000 homes, called Summerlin. “No one here has ever seen it this dry.”

In the throes of a prolonged drought, and growing at runaway speed across barren desert, Las Vegas is having a hard time reconciling its big dreams with an unforgiving new fact of life: It is running out of water.

The rest of the West, which has been afflicted by the drought for about five years, is watching its predicament with anxiety.

Some scientists say the drought may be the worst to strike the region in centuries. If it persists for several more years, the seven Western states whose shared lifeline for water is the Colorado River could see their supplies threatened, too. The Colorado’s water level is at its lowest point in at least 100 years. Lake Mead, the reservoir that collects some of the river’s flow and holds nearly all of the city’s supply, has dropped about 75 feet in the past few years and is now only half-full. If its water level declines 2 more feet, which is almost certain to occur by year’s end, Las Vegas likely will declare its first drought emergency.

It already feels as though one exists. The Southern Nevada Water Authority will spend $32 million over the next year offering rebates for residents who give up their grass: $1 per square foot, double the price it set two years ago. On average, a football field of turf is being ripped up every day.

That isn’t enough. In cities around the Las Vegas Valley, authorities are raising water rates on homeowners and businesses, restricting the use of lawn sprinklers, cracking down on car washes and threatening water-guzzling golf courses with fines. They are launching elaborate advertising campaigns describing the drought in dire terms and urging residents to conserve.

Some communities are even contemplating covering parks and playgrounds with artificial turf, provoking intense debate. Some parents fear their children will get burns from fake grass during the scorching summer days; others dread cleaning up after dogs.

“We’ve left the era of abundance and entered the era of shortages,” said Patricia Mulroy, the authority’s general manager. “It’s an ugly, ugly period.”

Managing water in the arid West has never been easy, but there’s always been enough of it to go around. In fact, California, the only colossus in the region, long has taken more than its share from the Colorado River because no other neighboring state needed it. And when Lake Mead was filled decades ago, officials figured it would quench southern Nevada’s thirst for centuries.

Then the population boom began. Today, Nevada and Arizona are the nation’s fastest-growing states, with Colorado and Utah close behind.

The pace of development around Las Vegas is dizzying. In the first six months of this year, officials approved permits for the construction of 20,300 new homes – a 67 percent increase from the same period last year. The population has doubled in the past decade, to 1.6 million. It grew by 60,000 people last year.

“We can’t build housing fast enough,” said Monica Caruso, spokeswoman for the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association.

Las Vegas is always one of the driest places in the country. But researchers examining geological patterns here over hundreds of years say the past four decades may have been wetter than usual. Since the 1960s, the region has occasionally averaged about 7 inches of rain a year. The tally during the past few years – about 4 inches – is closer to its historical average.

So the drought may not be an anomaly. It may be normal.

If so, growth has been guided in part by mistaken climate assumptions. An extended drought could profoundly affect how development proceeds.

“People are not facing reality,” said Robert Ferraro, mayor of nearby Boulder City. “We have to change our priorities. But I think it’s going to be a hard sell. I don’t see anything happening fast enough to thwart the problems we’re going to have if we’re headed into a major drought cycle. Every step being taken to conserve water is being overtaken by the number of people who keep coming.”

But the mood here may be changing. A July poll by the Las Vegas Review-Journal found 75 percent of residents favored limits on home construction until the drought ends. Some community leaders are urging the federal government to stop auctioning to builders the large tracts of land that it owns around the valley.

So far, those requests have been ignored. Growth is as much an addiction in Las Vegas as gambling. “How do you just raise the drawbridge to a community that is attracting thousands of new people every month?” Caruso asked.

“To say you can just cut it all off is naive,” Mulroy said. “The issue is not whether we grow, but how we grow.”

For now, she is preaching the urgent need for water conservation. And for the first time, it appears the message is taking hold.

Last year, after doubling their offer for turf, water officials had to add $8 million to the rebate program to accommodate the number of residents volunteering to give up their lawns. Every square foot removed saves about 80 gallons of water annually.

Developers are responding, too. Some are building homes on smaller lots, which lessens the need for landscaping – the main drain on the local water supply. Others have restricted the size of swimming pools or have stopped planting grass along sidewalks and medians.

The consequences of Las Vegas declaring a drought emergency aren’t yet clear, but they’re bound to be severe.

Water rates may be raised again, and more restrictions may be imposed on lawns and golf courses. “We’re the first urban community in the West that has to come to grips with these questions,” Mulroy said.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Jasmine Donahue talks about being a place for people leave messages when looking for family members, friends or loved ones on the street on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett extends deadline for homeless service facing closure

Hope ‘N Wellness must now comply with city zoning laws by April 30. The organization is “grateful,” its owner said, but still hopes for a permanent solution.

New Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce CEO CEO Wendy Poischbeg speaks at a kick off event on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Everett Rising’: Wednesday’s chamber luncheon to showcase a new era of growth.

The Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce is beginning its efforts… Continue reading

The Edmonds School District building on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds School District faces estimated $8.5 million deficit

The shortfall is lower than previous years, but the effects are “cumulative,” Superintendent Rebecca Miner said.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Hundreds rally against Trump on Presidents Day in Everett

People lined Broadway with signs and flags, similar to other protests across the country.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Alina Langbehn, 6, center, and Vera A., 6, right, sit on a swing together at Drew Nielsen Neighborhood Park after school on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett council votes to renovate Drew Nielsen Park

Construction on the $345,000 upgrade could start as early as this fall.

Northshore School District bus driver Stewart O’Leary pictured next to his buses shattered drivers side windshield on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Put me in, coach’: Bus driver back at work after struck by metal bar

Stewart O’Leary, a Northshore employee, has received national attention for his composure during a frightening bus trip.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.