Conservation Loves A Crisis: Lessons from North America's Driest City

“For all the water ostentatiousness of Las Vegas' Strip, with the Fountains at the Bellagio, the replica of New York harbor at New York New York, the canals where you can ride a gondola (indoors or out) at the Venetian, the progress on water use in Las Vegas has been dramatic, and largely unnoticed. Yes, it seems silly to have a city in the middle of a desert. But cities aren't centrally planned decisions: Las Vegas exists, frankly, because we like it there. Ten percent of Americans visit every year, and the population has tripled since 1990.”  ─ Charles Fishman, Author of The Big Thirst

 

In the Spring of 2000, when Doug Bennett left the City of Albuquerque to take the job as Conservation Manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, he had no idea he’d be coaching one of the nation’s fastest growing cities through the most punishing drought in modern history. Fifteen years later, Las Vegas stands as one of the great success stories of how a community that thrived on a reputation for excess was able to avert the very real prospect of turning away newcomers because there was simply no water to serve them.  

 

At our November 12 seminar, Doug Bennett will discuss how Las Vegas reacted to the drought “wake up call” of 2002. His community changed its resource strategy from one that relied upon a healthy Colorado River to provide surplus water, to one that makes conservation the cornerstone. The results? Vegas welcomed more than a half million new residents since 2002, but consumes 100,000 acre feet less Colorado River water.  In fact, despite the drought, southern Nevada has socked away hundreds of thousands of acre feet of water for future use.

 

Bennett will explain the design and administration of successful programs, including the Water Smart Landscapes Rebate Program, which has converted more than 170 million square feet of ornamental lawn grass and reduces the region’s water demand by nearly 10 billion gallons each year.  He’ll also discuss how the agency was able to continue pushing conservation, despite the economic collapse.

 

Join us on November 12 for a look “behind the curtain” at the Las Vegas water conservation program.