LETTER: Conservation and Southern Nevada’s water supply

Pat Russell (July 28 letter to the editor) and Review-Journal columnist Victor Joecks are both correct that Southern Nevada Water Authority customers currently have little water worries. But this is not by accident, and it is not true for those states drawing Colorado River water downstream from Hoover Dam.

More than 20 years ago, local water officials recognized the increasing demand for water and took action to reduce water usage with the turf rebate program and other conservation measures. These actions explain why the valley still has water.

Looking back to 2021, Southern Nevada took 500,000 acre-feet of water from the lake. But because return-flow credits had been increased thanks to conservation, the charge was for only 242,000 acre-feet. Without this increase in return flow credit, the valley water usage would have exceeded the current allocation. Also, water authority actions mean the valley can expect to meet the new restriction if Lake Mead should drop below 1,025 feet. The lake level at the end of June was 1,043 feet.