Coldest February in years? (Phoenix: 2013, landscaping, live)

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by timothyaw

You are factually wrong sir with all due respect. Las Vegas' population has doubled over the years and they use LESS water now than they did then. And all those beautiful fountains you see (Bellagio in particular) use water from aquifers beneath the properties. So the water that you see is not coming from Lake Mead.


Two, ALL water that returns through the sewer system is recycled back to Lake Mead for water credits. That's why they use far below their share of the Colorado river now, they reuse most of their water. They're on an aggressive campaign to pay people to replace grass with xeriscaping. So in short, Las Vegas is way ahead of the Valley of the Sun in water conservation. Phoenix does have more water sources, but that doesn't mean you can take the attitude that we're fine when it comes to water.

LV per capita use GOAL is 199 gal/person/day by 2035. They are not meeting their interim goals either. Phoenix now is 108, LA 85. Facts. They better be cutting water use too, because LV is growth limited unless they do. Phoenix, by contrast, can easily meet the domestic requirements of 10 million people with existing sources. FWIW Phoenix also uses less water than years ago in spite of population growth. It's because ag is being retired.

[beez74]

Makes sense.....When i first moved here the one thing i noticed was the crazy amount of car washes around, literally car washes a cross the street from each other so I often wondered if washing my car in the driveway was frowned on.

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

You'll get a fight. Some things are obvious like letting a hose run while washing a car. Letting water run into the street from sprinkers etc. On a larger scale, there is a term called "beneficial use". Does the water produce some economic benefit? Some uses have higher value than others. For example, residential uses are considered very high beneficial use, while irrigating low value crops like alfalfa are not. Watering residential lawns is probably the lowest beneficial use I can think of right off. Before anyone gets started, golf courses are among the highest beneficial uses (and a great deal of commercial turf irrigation in Arizona is now reclaimed water).

[timothyaw]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

LV per capita use GOAL is 199 gal/person/day by 2035. They are not meeting their interim goals either. Phoenix now is 108, LA 85. Facts. They better be cutting water use too, because LV is growth limited unless they do. Phoenix, by contrast, can easily meet the domestic requirements of 10 million people with existing sources. FWIW Phoenix also uses less water than years ago in spite of population growth. It's because ag is being retired.

Either on site wells/aquifers. Easy search turns up the answers.
Bellagio Fountains Aren't Sipping City Supply - Vegas Seven

As far as per capita use, I can look that up. But overall, we're well BELOW our overall ration of 300k acre feet of water from the Colorado. That's THE number that matters the most. And that's where AZ will be lose the most in this drought pact. NV will lose some but not as much as us.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by beez74

Makes sense.....When i first moved here the one thing i noticed was the crazy amount of car washes around, literally car washes a cross the street from each other so I often wondered if washing my car in the driveway was frowned on.

Almost all of them filter and recycle their water so it is probably more conservation minded to take it to a car wash. I wonder about people who wash their cars all the time though. It's so dusty here that a wash is good for a day or two, especially with a dark paint. I wash mine when it gets thrown in with an oil change and rotation at the dealer.

As for having them washed, you will see after being here for a while that it seems everyone forgets how to do anything themselves. They have a landscaper, pool service, maid service, handymen to change light bulbs etc - and go to the car wash.

[Ponderosa]

I see where the NWS snow prediction has a possibility of nearly 3 feet in Payson this week. In Payson, for heaven's sake!

[timothyaw]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I see where the NWS snow prediction has a possibility of nearly 3 feet in Payson this week. In Payson, for heaven's sake!

Isn't that near your place? Crazy amounts predicted. Let's see if it comes true.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by timothyaw

Isn't that near your place? Crazy amounts predicted. Let's see if it comes true.

Kind of as the crow flies, but I'm 2000 feet higher. Payson is below the Rim at about 4900 feet and generally does not get all that much snow in storms.

We are setting up for a possible flood on the Salt through Phoenix like in March 1978. There is a lot of water equivalent on the watersheds now, wet soils, Verde River system near 80% full, and the potential for a warm and very wet storm or two to bring it all down at once in March. The fly in the ointment is the Salt side which is pretty low even with the recent runoff.

[ajonesaz]

Welcome to El Nino. It's a normal weather pattern for El Nino. Nothing to get excited about except for the extra rain.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by ajonesaz

Welcome to El Nino. It's a normal weather pattern for El Nino. Nothing to get excited about except for the extra rain.

I've never been convinced of much of a correlation between El Nino and our weather in Arizona. Sometimes it seems to matter, others not. There are other patterns that seem to influence our weather more predictably, MJO events, for example.


https://www.climate.gov/news-feature...why-do-we-care

[Ponderosa]

Friday's predicted high in upper 40s/very low 50s would set a new record for the coldest high temp on that date. That kind of thing rarely happens anymore around here. And it could snow in Carefree. Get out your boards.