Nevada considers capping water use for homes in Vegas

 

Lawmakers in Nevada are considering new rules that would give water managers the authority to cap how much water residents could use in their homes, a step that reflects the dire conditions on the Colorado River after more than two decades of drought.

The latest proposal would, for the first time, give the Southern Nevada Water Authority the power to shut off water use for single-family homes that consume more than half an acre foot of water — or about 163,000 gallons — per year. Average residential consumption for the water agency, which serves the Las Vegas metropolitan area, has been about 130,000 gallons per year, according to spokesman Bronson Mack.

About 20 percent of residential water users — in a region of some 2.3 million people — already use more than half an acre foot of water in their homes. These tend to be larger properties, with big lawns or other landscaping that requires extensive irrigation, Mack said...more