Were using less water today than we used five years ago, despite over 300,000 new residents. I think its a Pretty Amazing example as to how a town can really turn on a dime if theres the political will and if the public gets behind it. Narrator even the casinos and resorts have adapted to efficient water use. Mulroy the Las Vegas Strip uses only 3 of all the water that we deliver. And when you think about it, its the largest economic driver in the state, the largest employer, bar none. They knew they had to go the extra mile. And theyve embraced conservation. And its almost beyond belief that theyre right now in the process of building another 15,000 rooms. Southern nevada recycles 100 of its wastewater. So for every gallon we put back in the colorado, we can take an additional gallon out, or we send it to reuse facilities. And we deliver it to golf courses and parks and other outside applications. Man waters about a third of our budget. Thats a lot of money. The lake right over here,
Another important form of conservation is preventing leaks. Man every drop counts. All Water Systems have what they call an efficiency rating. So if you were to measure the water that goes into your system and compare it to the water that goes out, how much is unaccounted for . Most states have a goal of 10 . Ours is at only 5. 5 right now. And we have plans to lower that to 4 . Man we actually have our entire Distribution System mapped out in a computerized or electronic format. And we can locate our pipes, we can locate our valves, we can locate water meters that are out there. Weve got small units installed in the Distribution System. And they actually listen for leaks. We can schedule the repair, minimize its impacts to the surrounding community, and it minimizes cost, because obviously, if youve got a leak thats been leaking for sometime, youre going to see a lot of undermining of the roadways, potential property damage. Fisher all the sensors in the field come into this location.
And they actually listen for leaks. We can schedule the repair, minimize its impacts to the surrounding community, and it minimizes cost, because obviously, if youve got a leak thats been leaking for sometime, youre going to see a lot of undermining of the roadways, potential property damage. Fisher all the sensors in the field come into this location. These two operators behind me operate the entire water system, 24 7. So we can see all of our reservoirs, their elevations, whether theyre going up or down, how much water were getting from our two Treatment Plants. We try to move it very quickly through the system and serve it to our customers in the most economic and efficient manner. Narrator las vegas serves as an example for cities across the country, whether they have a limited supply or not. And many utilities can identify with the struggles that come with maintaining underground assets to support a growing population. One of the most common issues that municipalities share is wat
Allbee its not just about the sustainability of the assets, its about the sustainability of our water resources. Parts of this country that thought of themselves as water rich 20, 30 years ago, now are discovering that they really are not water rich, they have source supply issues, they have serious questions about how theyre going to accommodate additional growth in their communities. Melosi if we can find alternatives, we can preserve a water supply. Conservation of water is a way of generating more water. Allbee we think that a household can actually reduce its water usage by about 30 . And thats hugely important in terms of the amount of infrastructure that communitys going to require. Narrator las vegas is one of the fastgrowing areas in the country. Its a relatively new city under constant construction. But because its in the arid mojave desert, the challenge of las vegas is supply. Woman all the growth and everything thats occurred in Southern Nevada has been with Colorado River
Woman all the growth and everything thats occurred in Southern Nevada has been with Colorado River water. Without it, the west as you know it today couldnt exist. Narrator to sustain their growing community with its limited supply, las vegas learned to be extremely efficient. Mulroy this is a desert, and it has its own beauty, but you have to get beyond what youre used to. As long as people recognize theyre moving to the desert and give up this notion that they have to bring eastern vegetation with them and make the necessary adaptations in their own life, desert communities can continue to live. Man the biggest water user in the desert is turf. Turf uses a lot of irrigation and uses spray irrigation, so what weve done here is use artificial turf. Youre never going to be able to achieve the look of back east or the look of, say, california, with subtropical plants, but our landscapes are still lush and use about 30 of what the subtropical landscape with turf would use. Las vegas has ad