Silent Advent Calendar 2007: December 8 |
December 8 Per capita daily water consumption in Las Vegas is around 300 gallons an improvement over recent years, but still 50 percent higher than in Phoenix and 80 percent higher than Tucson. And though per capita use is declining, the city's total demands continue to rise with the city's swelling population, now approaching 2 million in the metropolitan area. Looking at the extravagant hotel water fountains, visitors to Las Vegas may conclude that water is abundant. But the city's average annual rainfall is less than 4 1/2 inches per year. That means that here, as elsewhere in the arid West, water wars are a fact of life. The city sucks its water from the Colorado River, which after several years of western drought is at record low levels. Plans are afoot to pump more water to the city from aquifers to the north. But conservationists are protesting, fearing the move will dry up springs, affect rural communities, and threaten wildlife.
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