The two entities operate about permitted municipal wells in the Las Vegas Valley. The Water Authority developed and manages the Las Vegas Valley Groundwater Management Program to help protect the Valley's groundwater basin from being overdrawn and potential sources of contamination. When you take a shower or wash your car at a commercial facility, the unused water flows into the sewer system.
This sewer water travels to a wastewater treatment facility, where it is treated. The water returned to the lake earns us return-flow credits. Every gallon of water that is returned to the Colorado River through return-flow credits allows Southern Nevada to take another gallon out, which stretches our limited water supply.
With return-flow credits, Nevada can withdraw more than , acre-feet per year, so long as there are enough flows returned to the river each year that our consumptive use is no greater than , acre-feet of water per year. Approximately 40 percent of the water in the Water Authority's service area is used indoors. Of that, about 99 percent is recycled, either for direct or indirect use.
Direct reuse involves capturing, treating and reusing highly-treated wastewater flows to irrigate parks, golf courses and other uses.
Indirect reuse consists of recycling water for return-flow credits. As recommended by the Water Authority's Integrated Resource Planning Advisory Committee, the Water Authority is prioritizing the return of highly-treated wastewater used outside the Las Vegas Valley to the Colorado River for return-flow credits and further limiting consumptive uses of water outside the Las Vegas Valley.
This is "consumptive use" as the water is consumed and cannot be reused. Water conservation is a cost-effective resource that helps reduce current and future demand for water. Southern Nevada recycles nearly all water used indoors through direct or indirect reuse.
But water that is used outdoors cannot be captured, treated or used again—this is a consumptive use of water because the water is fully consumed by plants, grass and evaporation.
Conservation rebates and coupons are designed to help local residents and businesses reduce water waste and consumptive water use. SNWA's Water Smart Landscapes program has helped our community remove and replace water-thirsty turf, saving billions of gallons of water for our community. Complying with mandatory seasonal watering restrictions also has saved billions of gallons—and is the easiest way for our community to conserve water.
Two decades of drought have significantly reduced the water level at Lake Mead. That meant cuts in water allocation — and more cuts are likely in coming years. Many people, including Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager John Entsminger , blame global warming for contributing to the failing water levels. For the sake of argument, leave aside any doubts you may have about the connection between human activity and global warming.
Decades of failed predictions and the demonization of those who dare to disagree tends to leave one skeptical. Assume the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report accurately foretells the future. Many people do, and some of them are panicking. This is a desert. We are enduring a seemingly never-ending drought. The river that supplies 90 percent of our water is wasting away.
So why are people moving here? If global warming were the only consideration, residents would be fleeing. Adaptation can mitigate many of the harms caused by adverse climate events, even drought. For two decades, the Southern Nevada Water Authority has done just that. It paid homeowners to get rid of their grass. Although it might seem tempting to forego conservation measures and simply withdraw some of that stored water from the groundwater bank during periods of drought, it is very important that the community keep these reserves on hand for an emergency or as a bridge to future resources.
Maintaining a healthy balance in the Southern Nevada Groundwater Bank provides assurances to the community that we are prepared to weather an extended drought. While the Southern Nevada Groundwater Bank is a resource upon which the community can draw in times of need, it has also been used by the Las Vegas Valley Groundwater Management Program to permanently store Colorado River water for the benefit of the aquifer. By injecting water into portions of the valley where the water table is susceptible to decline, the Water Authority is able to maintain stable water levels and reduce the likelihood of subsidence and well failures.
Less than 2 percent of Lake Mead's water comes from the Las Vegas Wash, but it is of particular interest to the Las Vegas Valley Water District for the unique role it plays in the valley's ecological picture. The Wash is a tributary that channels stormwater, urban runoff, shallow groundwater and highly-treated wastewater into the Las Vegas Bay at Lake Mead. The Wash is a natural wetlands and its marshy qualities help polish impurities from water that flows through it and into Lake Mead.
In addition, the wetlands area is home to a variety of plant and animal species. These programs have included building weirs — dam-like structures — and revegetating shoreline to help strengthen the Wash banks and reduce erosion. For more information, visit LVWash.
Where your water comes from.
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