Water Conservation Field Services Program
in southern Nevada, northwest Arizona, and southwest Utah

Water agencies and Native American tribes in southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southwest Utah rely on water from the Colorado River and its tributaries, and limited supplies of groundwater to sustain their populations.

The majority of water supplies in this area goes to municipal and industrial uses, with limited agricultural application. Most water use is concentrated in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, but other cities, including St. George, Utah; Laughlin, Nevada; and Kingman, Lake Havasu City, and Bullhead City, Arizona, also draw from these limited supplies. With rapidly growing populations straining water resources in these areas, Reclamation's water conservation program focuses on supporting incentive and retrofit programs for local residents and businesses to encourage the most efficient water use.

In 2004, Reclamation awarded more than $276,000 in grants to support water conservation activities for several local communities and Indian tribes in the tri-state area. These funds helped implement urban water conservation plans, demonstration garden and retrofit projects, turf conversion activities, and the development of water catchments.

The programs are already proving to be extremely effective. For example, a plumbing retrofit program in Bullhead City has already resulted in a savings of more than 1.2 million gallons of water a year; when complete, the project is expected to annually save approximately 3.5 million gallons. Lake Havasu City's implementation of leak detection and conservation outreach programs will save approximately 9.1 million gallons per year. In southern Nevada, a demonstration garden with several feature areas highlighting "best management practices" for outdoor living spaces is increasing community awareness of backyard conservation practices, and a turf removal plan for city parks and other public areas is expected to save more than 2.7 million gallons of water annually. Reclamation grants also enabled the Hualapai Tribe in northern Arizona to install six water catchments on the driest sections of the reservation to provide about 30,000 gallons of stormwater runoff for livestock and wildlife.

Reclamation is also rehabilitating the landscaping around its office complex in Boulder City, Nevada. Through this activity, Reclamation joins other communities in southern Nevada and throughout the Southwest in demonstrating and promoting water conservation practices. The $186,000 project involves the removal of nearly 19,000 square-feet of grass that will be replaced with drought tolerant vegetation, resulting in a savings of more than 100,000 gallons of water per month.

For additional information about Reclamation's water conservation activities in southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southwest Utah, check out our Ongoing Projects page. Visit our Links page to discover other websites that can assist you in your conservation efforts.

For more information, contact Program Coordinator Tina Mullis at tmullis@lc.usbr.gov or at 702-293-8139.

Webmaster: Colleen Dwyer, cdwyer@lc.usbr.gov
Updated: May 2005