Las Vegas is the proving ground for a new Nevada state law banning “nonfunctional” grass. It is the first law of its kind in the nation, per the New York Times, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority hopes it will save up to 9.5 billion gallons of water per year. The law applies to ornamental grasses along sidewalks, medians, shopping centers, and other public spaces where someone once thought a green patch might look pretty. Notably, it does not apply to existing yards at single-family homes, golf courses, or parks, all which are subject to different conservation rules. Vegas officials flagged over 5,000 acres of nonfunctional grass for replacement by 2027. On average, it costs $9 per square foot to remove and replace; SNWA offers rebates starting at $3 per foot, but customers must shoulder the rest.
The law passed with bipartisan support. Not everyone is thrilled, but most people accept the new reality because they really don’t have a choice. The problem is Lake Mead, or lack thereof: it has shrunk every year since 2000 amid a regional megadrought and is now at an unprecedented low. Meanwhile, Vegas metro has continued to grow, taking in some 750,000 new people, according to SNWA’s Corey Enus, who spoke to Fox5 Vegas. When it comes to waste, he says faucets and toilets aren’t the problem. Water used indoors is treated and returned to the system; however, outdoor watering accounts for 60% of water usage, and most that is essentially wasted.
Matter can neither be created or destroyed
All the huge resorts and casinos and spread of residential sprawl for employees have nothing to do with it, eh?
All that CO2 absorbing greenery getting destroyed. Congratulations.
Hard to imagine how many people thought it would be a good idea to live in a desert.
How many states does it pass through before the Colorado River gets to Nevada? Is it only Nevada or do they want to look back through the other states and complain about their usage, too.
Water companies love to raise rates even if they have to lie about it. And then when you slow down usage, they raise rates because you’re not using it. Just like with electricity. Which Hoover Dam provides.
And the Bellagio’s Fountains?
MJA you’re always invited to spend some days by the lake.
…of course they could SHARPLY reduce wasted water if they got rid of all their nonfunctional Democrat voters, just sayin’…
Kcir – Canadian Joker, Eh!
MAY 9, 2022 AT 8:15 AM
“And the Bellagio’s Fountains?”
…THIS little thing?
https://news.com.au/entertainment/music/music-videos/wild-bruno-mars-rides-a-jetski-in-las-vegas/news-story/774897f7b6986bbb8d520d54209663b7
750,000 new people? Imagine what the traffic must be like there. Here on the east side of El Paso they’ve added thousands of apartments and did absolutely nothing about all the traffic those apartments brought. Every day, just up the road from me the traffic jam starts around 6:00AM and lasts until about 10:30 – 11:00PM. Sunday we get minor releif. Plan ahead…..
So get some sheep and make it functional…
Dr. Tar- Thank you!
I’ve got a trip to Vegas planned. Soon Vegas may have to shut down the casinos/hotels in order to save water. As I was looking at which hotel to stay at, I noticed bathtubs in the rooms. What’s up with that? I don’t have a bath tub in my house. Never did like sitting in my own dirt. The water in the fountains I am sure are recycled water. IIRC, The Luxor is actually sinking due to the pumping of water out of the aquifer. Too many people, no wonder Gates and Fauki Fauci Flu want to eliminate people other than themselves.
@Irate Nate May 9, 2022 at 7:59 am
“many people” “good idea”
Oxymorons
fnuck,
For once, I agree with you.
“A camel is a horse designed by a committee”.
@Irate Nate, Yeah, tell that to the close to 5 million folks living in the Phoenix metro area. Do you suggest we all move to the earthquake, landslides, or fire prone regions of the country? Or I hear the Gulf states are nice with the catastrophic hurricanes they experience. Or maybe, the tornado states are always lovely. Here in the desert, we have little of those worries. Water worries perhaps,, but the good Lord will always provide rain.. But thanks for your concern.
SNS
I like fountains, but my lord the evaporation rate esp. in the desert.
I thank God daily for the Great Lakes Compact and shed no tars for those dull witted enough to live in a desert.
there is such a thing as a ‘water budget,’ or at least there used to be. Unlike the fiscal budget, which just prints more money, water can’t be just created. And no wonder their aquifer is shrinking.
The out-gassing of volatile plastics on a hot summer’s day will greatly increase the ambiance. And just wait until some of that astroturf catches on fire.
‘nonfunctional grass’ lol
next, it will be ‘nonfunctional’ people
I visited Lake Mead back in ’75, it was beautiful. And hot.
5000 acres of nonfunctional grass that is going to cost $9/sqft to remove will cost almost two billion dollars. Seems to me that just not watering the grass would take care of the problem.
Welcome to Fake World. It’ll only get worse. Just a matter of time until humans are kept in small enclosures and piped in a fake existence experience.
There will always be a reason to make your life less than it should be.
As long as you let your overlords have their way.
Bet your last dollar nothing applies to the deciders of these things.
Fakery makes me nauseous. Has since childhood. Animatronics looked like what it was back in the 60s. Lifeless mechanical imitation. No joy there.
Also applies to the stupid kid shows like Capt Kangaroo and Mr Roger’s Neighborhood. The list seems endless. Including badly made toys of cheap easy to break plastic and candy that shouldn’t be called candy but chemical imitations of candy.
One of the reasons pulling a trigger on a rifle at 6 years old was truly entertaining. Camping was WAY more interesting than any kid’s show.
Gimme real greenery, or you might as well paint everything green to pretend you have the real thing. Your depression will be blamed on something else, of course.
“And then when you slow down usage, they raise rates because you’re not using it”
Exactly the same with fuel. “Our overhead is the same regardless of how little is needed” So less fuel being made makes it more expensive. Think “boutique” fuel supplies in the future. Made to order since nothing else is available.
If demand drops greatly, so does mass production. So saving on fuel mileage actually can work against you if everyone figures out how to get 60 miles to the gallon. Talk about frustrating.
Ya know, there are alternatives to having grass in desert-y environs.
Vacationing in Arizona in early 2010, I was highly interested in their zero-water landscaping. They had citrus plants everywhere that weren’t watered every day like a golf course. Just existing and providing fruit so much they were laying around on the ground all over town. I’m sure you could produce some fuel from all that sugar laying on the ground. But it just lays there and rots/dehydrates.
Mother earth has already provided the answers to the needs of a low-water environment. Just copy her and you’re golden.