Las Vegas Insider Vibe: Las Vegas Shows, Hotels, News, Inside Scoop from AccessVegas.com

Tuesday, October 17, 2006
12:43:00 AM PDT

This article Nevada State Demographer's Office released its projections Monday for the period through 2026. Clark County can expect another 1.5 million people, according to the latest numbers. It notes:

"Nevada will likely continue to outpace the national growth rate," State Demographer Jeff Hardcastle said in a statement. "The Census Bureau's Interim Projections show the United States growing by 19 percent between 2000 and 2020 and Nevada's growth rate is projected at 74 percent for the same period; within Nevada, change will be unevenly distributed." The bulk of the state's new citizens are expected to move to Nye and Clark counties.

I'm not seeing it. Clark County officials are telling us that we need to conserve water. The truth is that we are already using our entire allotment of water, with new sources years and years away. Officials keep their head in the sand about this hoping and praying that the Rocky Mountains will have excess rainfall over the next few years (giving us excess water for Clark County) and/or that perhaps financial deals can be worked out to buy water rights from somewhere.

Good Luck. Bottom line is that Lake Mead will continue to empty until the entire southwest (Southern Nevada, Southern California, and Arizona) will be forced into drastic conservation measures. No non-essential water usage.

That will spur alternative solutions like more desalination plants in Southern California (funded by Southern Nevada so we can have some of their allotment of the Colorado River), but not before the havoc dramatically slows growth and slows the non-tourism economy.

We in Southern Nevada can either take measures to slow growth now (requiring new home developers to help fund new water sources) or watch it really grind to a halt almost overnight down the road.

Recent Las Vegas related blog posts by Ted Newkirk:

• A Smart Alternative To Getting Guests Up and Down the Las Vegas Strip
• Folies Bergere Continues To Be A Must-See: Old Vegas So Retro It Is New Again

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