LETTER: Local water resource plan leaves much to be desired
For anyone who has read the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s 2024 Water Resource Plan, it is clear that there have been significant water savings brought about with a heavy stick of compliance upon parts of the community. But it is equally clear, as stated by County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick — who also serves as president of the Las Vegas Valley Water District Board of Directors — that “the next generation is gonna have some harder decisions.”
Bottom line: Regardless of Lake Mead’s level, even if it were overflowing as it was in 1983, we have only a 300,000 acre-feet allocation from the Colorado River.
The optics of the Colorado being used to motivate people in Clark County to upend their quality of life by ripping out turf, trees and other planting materials — all under a one-size-fits-all proposition regardless of lot size — to make way for a population of up to 4 million people is a dead end absent additional water being brought into the valley.
But only a few paragraphs in the resource plan are dedicated to the opportunities available for the water security necessary to grow and prosper without destroying quality of life. These efforts should be front and center, as opposed to congratulating an effort toward a per capita allotment of water that even Pat Mulroy, former general manager and founder of the water authority, has indicated will come with an unacceptable amount of damage to the community.
The Review-Journal would do well to move off of “grim” predictions about Lake Mead and dive deeper into the operational efficiencies of the water authority and the water district, along with the responsibilities of the Clark County Commission. That would help the paper fulfill its obligations to educate and protect the community through aggressive and responsible reporting.