Water in Las Vegas: coping with scarcity, financial and cultural constraints

Frederic Lasserre

doi:10.1186/s40410-015-0027-4

Abstract

Las Vegas has often been described as offering the paradox of wasting large amounts of water for the tourism industry, whereas it is located in an arid desert area. However, a closer examination shows that it is residential demand that is responsible for most of water use. This paper will rely on the analysis and comparison of the main water policy elements in several Western cities, with a special focus on Las Vegas. The city authorities embarked, in the late 1950s, in policies aimed at reducing a very large residential water demand. If the authorities have been successful, efficiency gains can certainly be achieved as per capita use remains high in the Las Vegas area, and tariffs low. Political, sociological, legal and technical constraints weigh in to provide for a difficult equation to solve for water authorities. These difficulties might explain why the lure of massive water diversions is looming high again.

Highlights

Las Vegas has often been described as offering the paradox of wasting large amounts of water for the tourism industry, whereas it is located in an arid desert area
Las Vegas sits in the Mojave desert: the city benefits from 10 cm of rain each year (NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2015), as underlined by Patricia Mulroy (Mulroy, 2000), who acted as head of the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) between 1991 and 2014
Las Vegas’s use of water may be large, but it is largely due to domestic water use, not so much because of hotels and casinos

Summary

Introduction

Las Vegas has often been described as offering the paradox of wasting large amounts of water for the tourism industry, whereas it is located in an arid desert area. A closer examination at the water policy implemented by the SNWA and the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD) underlines discrepancies with other Western cities, notably on pricing policies and on efforts put on indoor water use control.

Results

Conclusion