‘More with less’: Las Vegas water officials meet water demand for growing population amid drought, conservation measures

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) -Las Vegas water officials are working to bring water to fast-growing communities across the Las Vegas valley, while working to conserve available water during the drought.

A reservoir and pumping station is being built at Centennial Parkway and Fort Apache Road, which will help pump water into surrounding communities. More of these systems will be needed, as communities continue to grow across the valley.

“Right now the northwest part of the valley is growing. The reservoir that’s being constructed here, right now will be one of 83 reservoirs that we have,” said Corey Enus of the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Las Vegas Valley Water District.

“The Southern Nevada community has been able to do more with less... Last year we use 26 billion gallons less water than we did in 2002 when the drought started. Since 2002, our community has grown by 750,000 people,” Enus said.

Enus said more people does not necessarily mean more water usage. Outdoor watering takes up 60% of current usage.

“Here in Southern Nevada, everything that we use indoors, everything that touches a drain, is returned, treated, and reuse returned to the Colorado River system stop. If you construct a home in 2022, versus a home back in 1980, or 1990, you’re not allowed to have wall to wall grass in the front yard. So if we construct an apartment building right now, the only use of that apartment building will be that water use that’s indoors, but that water we get to reuse over and over and over again,” Enus said.

Additional reservoirs will be coming around the Red Rock and Summerlin areas in the next six to 18 months, Enus said.

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