[llowllevellowll]

I'm from Cleveland and am visiting Vegas for the first time tomorrow. I have been pushing my wife to accept a job in law in either Vegas or Kingman, AZ where she was offered a job because I love the southwest. She's skeptical that we would love it the way I think we will.

At any rate, one reason she is worried is the water situation in that part of the country. I have a few questions for my own curiosity?

1. How nervous do you get regarding Lake Mead's ability to produce drinking water past 2010?

2. Does anyone know Plan B, C, D, E, et all for drinking water if/when Lake Mead is no longer an option?

3. I know alot of the problem is people from up north who re-locate and want to produce a grassy yard (60% of Lake Mead's use is for landscaping, I read), but is this ignorant practice finally coming to an end?

4. What would you say, approximately, is the percentage of those who use Xeriscape Landscaping to those who have grass, in and around Vegas?

5. Finally, is there a sort of antimocity for those who still maintain a grass lawn? Any middle fingers, vandalism, irritation, etc?


I want to hear of people who live in and around Vegas, and anywhere else really. Thanks.

[jpk]

Do a search on Lake Mead, that topic has been addressed here already.

As for desert landscaping, most all new homes have it and do not have lawns. I think it's a waste of money to maintain a lawn in Las Vegas.

That said, 60% of Lake Mead water is not used for landscaping. The vast majority goes to agriculture in California.

I think you must be quoting the stat that 50% or more of a typical homes water consumption each month goes towards irrigation. That is a national figure for homes with lawns and irrigation systems.

Just get desert landscaping, plant a few nice destert trees, and use drip irrigation a few times a week. Trees need less daily water than grass, make a better visual impact, and are easier to maintain.

I don't know whether there is any environmental terrorism against those that maintain a lawn. Maybe others have stories on this.

[Buzz123]

A. You wouldn't like Kingman.
B. Lake Mead isn't going to go dry.
2. Back when then Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) was built, Nevada said we don't need that much water since Las Vegas will never be very big, and there is virtually no agriculture here. So they gave most of the water rights from Lake Mead to Arizona and California. We have been trying for years to renegotiate those rights. Some day we will win that battle, and snow will return to the Rockies so that the Lake levels will rise again. There is a lot of water in Lake Mead being as it's the largest man made lake in the western hemisphere with over 500 miles of shoreline and it's really deep. I can't imagine the government allowing millions of people to die of thirst when the water is there and being used for agriculture. Remember there are several dams on the Colorado. Lake Powell upstream from us is almost as big as Mead and I'm not sure what the water is for other than recreation and flood control. Good westerner Eco-raiders are just waiting for an excuse to blow up the Glen Canyon Dam anyway. And I suppose we could always tell Mexico, too bad, we're keeping the water up here.
X. I have never heard of anyone really caring if their neighbor has grass. Most of us don't even notice who has grass and who has rocks. Most lawns here are pretty small anyway. Nevada is live and let live. You're making a mountain out of a molehill, but I can understand why you might have those ideas, not being familiar with the area.
8. I'd bet that more than half of the homes here now have desert landscaping just for the low maintenance. Besides, it can, be very beautiful and it usually is. When you get here don't try to turn it into Cleveland...this is nothing like Cleveland and you'll fail. When in Rome...

[llowllevellowll]

Buzz> I found a really neat website which showed the capacities for all of the local reservoirs which was huge. Lake Powell, is unfortunately, only at 34 percent capacity at the moment. But, I did read alot about our givings to Mexico (500,000 gallons or something per year -- I know we wouldn't hesitate to stop that)

My worry actually ceased when I read about the groundwater that southern Arizona is tapping into at the moment, because more than likely, I will be living in Arizona and not Vegas and I've also read that they are a bit ahead of the times as far as Xeriscaping goes.

I will say this though - it appears to me that Vegas may want to be a little more militant about who uses Xeroscape because in pictures I am still seeing alot of grass -it appears a tad bit antiquated.

I am happy to say however, that the last thing I would want is to recreate Cleveland LOL I can't wait to grow an amazing desert landscape.

[roger6087]

Originally Posted by Puddy4LyF

Buzz>
I will be living in Arizona and not Vegas and I've also read that they are a bit ahead of the times as far as Xeriscaping goes.

Stop worrying about Vegas, just stay where you are.

[airics]

ummm... the cleveland thing has me confused... are you referring to the magical green grasses that only exist for a month?