Cultivating a Sustainable Community

Marin Water Board RetreatOctober 15, 2021

2

Nevada is allocated 300,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water annually.

It’s about 98 billion gallons.

That’s 1.8 percent of the 16.5 million acre-feet allocated.

3.9

1

0.851.7

4.44

2.85

0.3

1.5 Colorado

Wyoming

New Mexico

Utah

California

Arizona

Nevada

Mexico

Colorado River Allocations (MAF)

We Have but a Small Share

Southern Nevada is heavily relianton the Colorado River to meet our community’s water demands. The river provides 90 percent of our

supply.

SNWA serves 2.4M people and more than 600,000 accounts.

Colorado River Other

10%

90%

3

The Colorado River is Our Lifeline

64% 65%

24%

57% 55%

118%

80% 81%

112%

94%

78%

147%

45% 47%

96% 94%89%

110%

43%

120%

54%

31%

0.000

2.000

4.000

6.000

8.000

10.000

12.000

14.000

16.000

18.000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Mill

ion

Acre

-Fee

t Historic Average

4

In the early 2000s, Colorado River inflows began to decrease and have not rebounded.

Drought is Taking a Toll

22-yearDrought Average

Lake Mead Level is Our Indicator of System Health

1,000

1,050

1,100

1,150

1,200

1,250

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Elev

atio

n in

Fee

t abo

ve S

ea L

evel

Below average inflows led to declines in Lake Mead water levels.Multiple years of extraordinary runoff would be required to recover.

Current Elevation: 1,068 ft.

118% 147%

120%

6

PROTECTING LAKE MEADColorado River Basin States Agreements

LAKE MEAD WATER LEVEL

(FT above Sea Level)

SHORTAGE AMOUNT

(AFY)

DCP CONTRIBUTION

(AFY)

TOTAL (AFY)

Above 1,090 0 0 0

At or below 1,090 0 8,000 8,000

At or below 1,075 13,000 8,000 21,000

Below 1,050 17,000 8,000 25,0000

At or below 1,045 17,000 10,000 27,0000

Below 1,025 20,000 10,000 30,000

The Interim Surplus Guidelines (2007) and the Drought Contingency Plan (2019) help reduce the risk of Colorado River reservoirs reaching critical elevations.

Southern Nevada has spent decades

preparing for drought to ensure reliability of

water supplies for Southern Nevada

7

2.1 MAF in storage (appx. 8 years’ current demand)

Working with partners & developing comprehensive plans to manage supplies

Incentives, programs, regulation & pricing

Constructing major facilities and asset management

WATER BANKING

RESOURCE PLANNING

CONSERVATION

INFRASTRUCTURE

DROUGHT RESPONSE

Consumptive vs. Non-consumptive Water Use

WATERTREATMENT

PLANT

WastewaterTreatment Plant

40%

60%

COLO

RADO

RIV

ER

Diversion - Return Flow = Consumptive Use

RATES

POLICYINCENTIVES

EDUCATION

Four Strategic Conservation Arenas

• 4-Tier water rate• Landscape development code (& service rules)• Golf course water budgets• Water Use Compliance Enforcement• Water Smart Landscapes Incentive ($3/SF)• Water Efficient Technologies Incentive• Smart Irrigation Control Rebate • Smart Leak Detection Device Rebate• Water Smart Car Wash• Water Smart Contractor• Water Upon Request

Current ProgramsIn relative order of value

Emerging Programs

• Leak Intervention• Mandatory non-functional turf retrofit (CII only)• Regional Water Use Compliance enforcement• Facility cooling• Large Users Policy• Development planning for higher efficiency

Leak Intervention Programs

• Most member agencies operate a “leak forgiveness” program

• SNWA studying impact of customer-side smart leak detection devices

• Developing a Water Smart Plumber program

• Proposed free intervention voucher• Creating utility captive insurance• Proposed service line warranty

coverage for 100 percent of residential customers

NON-FUNCTIONAL TURF

• Medians• Roundabouts• Streetscapes• Monument signs• Parking lots• Neighborhood entries• Front yards• Unused back yards

Recreational turf in parks and schools is valued, but non-functional turf has little or no recreational value.

Unused turf is wasted water73 gallons per square foot annually (9.8 feet rainfall equivalent)

Estimated Non-Functional Turf Eligible for Replacement (Acres)

Single FamilyResidential

1,100

Apartmentsand HOAs

1,500Institutional

500

Commercial & Industrial

1,000

GOLF300

Other600

AB356 initiates a five-year transition to replace non-functional turf (NFT) in commercial and governmental settings by prohibiting their irrigation with SNWA water.

15

NON-FUNCTIONAL TURFAnd AB356

• Single family homes excluded.• Affects HOA’s, businesses, government• Golf and parks may have some NFT.• Up to 170 million square feet.• Savings of almost 10 billion gallons annually.• Projects eligible for SNWA rebates.

• Outreach to the landscape and nursery industry.• Strengthen supply chains.• Expand staff and equipment.

• 9-member advisory committee of affected landowners convening now to help formalize definitions.

• Aerial imagery and land use data will identify affected properties.

• SNWA is amplifying its workforce and streamlining rebate processes.

Implementation of AB356

Soccer, anyone?

Single Family ResidentialWater Smart Landscapes Applicants

Click to add text

• Research shows significant savings from compliant properties compared to non-compliant properties.

• Currently 16 FTE conducting field investigations 24/7.• Some agencies use AMI data to issue warnings and

violations.• SNWA augmenting member agency staff soon.• RFP to utilize smart controls as a demand management

and compliance tool.

Water Use Compliance Programs

• Facility cooling is second only to landscape irrigation in consumptive demand.

• Little is known about the efficacy and economic impacts of alternative cooling strategies.

• Currently working with AWE members on research to inform decision making.

• Will consider requiring best practices to be utilized in new development.

Facility Cooling

• The top 2% of CII accounts use more than half of all water in their sector.

• Developing policy to compel best practices for new development exceeding 10Mgal consumptive use annually.

• Many stakeholders in this arena:• Economic development agencies• Elected officials• Chambers of commerce• Landowners

Large Users Policy

Questions?