U.S. Water News Online
LAS VEGAS -- Although households collectively consumed the most, the Clark County School District topped a list of the 100 largest water users in the Las Vegas area, followed by a pair of golf course facilities.
Area schools and support offices used 2.75 billion gallons last year, enough to cover more than 8,000 football fields with a foot of water, according to records released by the district and water agencies.
The school district was the valley's biggest single user in 2002, but golf courses and hotels accounted for two-thirds of the top 100 users.
The figures were provided as southern Nevada develops plans to cope with the drought, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
``I'm not hiding anything. We're trying our best,'' said Alan Paulson, the school district's coordinator of landscaping and grounds. ``I know we're out in the public's eye. We're trying to make changes in design requirements.''
Paulson said the district, the fastest growing school system in the nation, serves 277 schools with 1,800 acres of landscaping. Grass grows on about 1,500 acres. About 255,000 students and nearly 29,000 employees use district facilities.
P.J. McGuire, turf manager for three golf courses at Sun City Community Association, said the school district's water efficiency standards don't meet those expected from golf courses.
The association ranks third on the list and first in consumption for a single account in the Las Vegas Valley Water District.
``They're horrible users as far as managing water,'' McGuire said. ``They typically have low budgets and limited manpower to manage their water use, where we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on manpower and technology for turf management.''
Sun City's golf courses are irrigated with water that is first used by the community's 7,700 homes. Water discharged by the homes into the sewer is channeled to a treatment plant, which then pumps it to irrigation ponds that are tapped by golf courses for irrigation.
Golf course facilities accounted for 28 of the top 100 users, second behind hotels and casinos, which at 39 made up the largest category.
Under the Southern Nevada Water Authority's new drought plan, golf courses must budget their water use or pay expensive surcharges for overuse.
According to the authority, Las Vegas Valley households used 48 percent of Nevada's 300,000 acre-foot allocation from the Colorado River. Most water consumed by valley homeowners, 70 percent, was used to water lawns and for landscaping.
The drought plan, approved by the authority's board last month, serves as a blueprint for seven Southern Nevada water agencies to follow. It offers rebates for replacing lawns with desert landscaping and it restricts outdoor watering to certain times or days in a given season.
The top users behind the Clark County School District are in order Lake Las Vegas, Sun City Community Association, Nellis Air Force Base and Henderson Parks and Recreation.
Rounding out the top ten are the Revere Golf Club, Mission Industries, Angel Park Golf Club, Boulder Creek Golf Club and Red Rock Country Club.
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