Trujillo said a permanent treatment system on the river could cost more than $100 million, far beyond the city's means.
Las Vegas is hoping the temporary treatment system will slow down the ticking clock as crews continue work upstream to keep more ash, debris and sediment from clogging the Gallinas River that feeds the city's reservoirs. And for the second year in a row, Arizona and Nevada will face cuts in the amount of water they can draw from the Colorado River as the western drought becomes more acute. New Mexico's largest city, for example, was forced to stop pulling water from the Rio Grande this year as it dried up within Albuquerque city limits for the first time in decades. Like other western cities, Las Vegas is in search of alternative sources of water as nearby rivers and reservoirs shrink amid hotter, drier conditions. It will be capable of treating about 1.5 millions gallons (5.7 million litres) a day, about what the city consumes daily. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and livelihoods lost.Īmid an undercurrent of heartbreak and anger, residents are feeling the sting yet again as their water supply dwindles as a result and the pressures of climate change show no signs of letting up.Ĭity officials expect that system to be installed next week. They watched from a distance as an area larger than Los Angeles was devoured by a conflagration sparked by the federal government when two planned burns meant to reduce the threat of wildfire went awry due to a combination of human error and outdated modeling that didn't account for extreme weather. It was just months earlier that thousands of residents from Las Vegas and dozens of surrounding mountain villages were forced to pack up their belongings, load their livestock into trailers and flee as the wildfire raged, fueled by unprecedented hot, dry winds. “It is disheartening to our families and our children to not know that they may not have water in a month from now,” said Leo Maestas, the city manager. The three universities that call Las Vegas home are coming up with conservation plans as the school year kicks off. Restaurants are worried they may have to cut back on serving their signature red and green chile dishes. Residents are showering with buckets in hopes of salvaging extra water for other uses. Events have been canceled in an effort to discourage more people from coming to town.
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