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Conservation Loves A Crisis: Lessons Learned in North America’s Driest City

Conservation Loves A Crisis: Lessons Learned in North America’s Driest City. Doug Bennett Conservation Manager Southern Nevada Water Authority. 8 Lessons. Lesson 1: Don’t Fight With Giants Lesson 2: Stop Chasing Your Tail Lesson 3: Things may not be what they seem

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Conservation Loves A Crisis: Lessons Learned in North America’s Driest City

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  1. Conservation Loves A Crisis: Lessons Learned in North America’s Driest City Doug Bennett Conservation Manager Southern Nevada Water Authority

  2. 8 Lessons • Lesson 1: Don’t Fight With Giants • Lesson 2: Stop Chasing Your Tail • Lesson 3: Things may not be what they seem • Lesson 4: You’re not the Alpha dog • Lesson 5: Know Your Sh..tuff • Lesson 6: The Game Keeps Changing • Lesson 7: Don’t Burn the Haystack • Lesson 8: Find Common Ground

  3. LESSON 1 Don’t Fight With GIANTS

  4. Partnerships • Increase adoption, strengthen credibility and build community ethic: • Home Builders • Landscape contractors • Car Washes • Restaurants • Hotels • Swimming Pool Industry

  5. Water Smart Home Program • Voluntary program certifies new homes and neighborhoods as Water Smart. • Requires high efficiency plumbing fixtures, appliances, landscape and irrigation. • More than 10,000 built. • Largest program of its kind in the United States.

  6. LESSON 2 Stop Chasing Your TAIL

  7. Water Smart Landscapes $1.50 for each square foot of lawn converted to water-efficient landscape. • 169 million square feet • $190 million rebated • 59 billion gallons saved Before After

  8. For Every Home Converted between 1999 and 2003… Twenty-eight New Homes were built. Most of those with front lawns.

  9. 2003 Landscape Development Codes Lawns prohibited in new residential front yards and limited to 50 percent in new backyards. No Lawn grass in Commercial Development Clark County Operations Building

  10. LESSON 3 Things May NOT Be What They Seem

  11. Indoor vs. Outdoor Water Use 10% groundwater Water used indoors is recovered for direct or indirect reuse. TREAT 90% Surface water

  12. Water Reuse Comprises 40 Percent of Las Vegas’ Supply

  13. Caesar’s Palace Street View

  14. Caesar’s Palace Aerial Southern Nevada’s resorts account for less than 3 percent of consumptive water use.

  15. Consumptive (outdoor) 25% Non-consumptive (indoor) 75% Mega-Resort Water Use Evaporation from cooling systems exceeds the combined use of landscape, water features and pools. • Mega-Resort Facts • About 3,000 rooms • Average 110 acre parcel • < 2% pools & fountains • < 4% landscaping • ~94% buildings & surfaces

  16. NEW HOMES USE LESS WATER, RIGHT? EPA New Homes Water Efficiency Study Pre/post January 1, 2001 construction dates

  17. NEW HOMES USE LESS WATER, RIGHT? EPA New Homes Water Efficiency Study

  18. Monthly ConsumptionStanding Homes Built 1990-1995

  19. Monthly Consumption1990-1995 v. 2000-2003

  20. Monthly ConsumptionPost 2003 Homes Comparison

  21. Monthly ConsumptionWater Smart Homes Comparison

  22. Growth is Not Always SprawlMajor Western MSA’s over 1 Million Population Population-weighted density from 2010 U.S. Census Metropolitan Statistical Area Distance Profiles http://www.census.gov/population/metro/data/pop_pro.html

  23. LESSON 4 You‘re not the ALPHA Dog

  24. Your issues may take a backseat… • Politics & Public Opinion • Utility Solvency • Infrastructure needs • Water Quality & Other Regulation • Watershed recovery (“Hey, it rained”) …and, by the way, overachievers are not always appreciated.

  25. LESSON 5 Know Your SH..TUFF

  26. It’s Not Enough to be a Toilet Expert… • Organizational Revenue Sources • Water Supply Sources • State and Federal Policies • Related Political Issues • History • Regional & National Trends • Economic climate

  27. Expand your Realm… • Strengthen Internal and Peer Relationships • Read everything your organization produces, especially financial reports. • Invite guest speakers to your meeting • Use Google Alerts

  28. LESSON 6 The GAME Keeps Changing

  29. Drought & Climate Change http://www.usbr.gov/climate/maps.html

  30. Indoor Agriculture Tomatoes: High Value Crop Dude, Totally High Value Crop

  31. Green Infrastructure

  32. Shower Tower of Power • The $5,000 Kohler WaterHavenfeatures seven heads • “The ultimate in performanceshowering” • Promises “a different shower experience every day”

  33. Horizontal Shower Too tired to stand? Shower laying down beneath six remote-controlled heads.

  34. Flotation Pod Not wet enough?

  35. Water Piston Hose Reel 4-6 Gallons of water used to rewind your hose.

  36. Water-powered sump pump 1 gallon municipal water 2 gallons of floodwater

  37. LESSON 7 Don’t Burn the HAYSTACK

  38. Golf Course Water Budgets Water Use per Acre Before Water Budgeting Highest Users Lowest Users

  39. Golf Course Water Budgets Water Use per Acre After Water Budgeting 10% sector use reduction in one year

  40. Aerial Vegetation Assessment

  41. LESSON 8 Find COMMON Ground

  42. Inter-Agency Collaboration • Urban habitat doesn’t respect lines on a map • Promotes Equity • Economic, social, political • Efficient messaging; avoids confusion • Builds regional ethic • Unified approach produces better results, even if you have to compromise

  43. Collaboration: Watering Restrictions Five jurisdictions - identical watering restrictions.

  44. Thank You. Doug Bennett Conservation Manager Southern Nevada Water Authority

  45. Today’s Overview

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