Vegas Free-for-All - Stay Thirsty My Friends [A Las Vegas Thread]

Stay Thirsty My Friends [A Las Vegas Thread]

JM2300

Jul 11, 2014
1:03pm

Quote

Originally posted by: CowboyKell

Quote
Originally posted by: forkushV
Quote
Originally posted by: CowboyKell
OK. Really now. I have, for a long time now, wondered why the casinos in Las Vegas do not replace all their urinals with the waterless kind you see in some places.
You might think this a joke but I'm serious! If all the urinals, which use .6 gallons a flush (and you cannot elect to NOT flush since they are automatic), in Vegas were replaced with waterless urinals the overall water savings would be HUGE...
Probably true, but in general the hotel-casinos a pretty good corporate citizens when it comes both water and energy use, and the newest ones are exceptional.

The problem in Vegas is all of the ridiculous lawns. Every square foot devours 73 gallons of water a year. A hundred years from now, people will be looking at old pictures and wonder how stupid and self-centered you have to be to live in a desert, but then waste all that water pretending you don't.

Is 73 gallons a year a typo? It seems low for a years worth of lawn irrigation. I am almost sure that I use much more than that and we don't have that large of a lawn footprint. Of course we are also required to keep the steep cliff/hill down to the water properly vegetated and irrigated to prevent erosion. We also have a pool and spa which use quite a bit due to evaporation. Even more so this past month with no 'June gloom' this year.

All this considered I would imagine that one large resort casino uses more water for urinals in one week than all the lawns combined for a year.
One step at a time. I will do my part by recommending no flush urinals!
(Sorry, not getting rid of my lawn or pool.)

I agree completely about the lawns and I think Las Vegas is now limiting (new)lawns and will help in lawn conversions to crushed stone, etc.
But 73 gallons yearly per square foot?
An acre has 43,560 square feet and if a grass yard the average yearly use is 3,179,880 gallons of water?

Boilerman

Jul 11, 2014
1:18pm

Block User

Indianapolis receives about 30 gallons of rain per square foot per acre during a year. Vegas will need more than that due to high temps and and low humidity.

Now, let's think about pounds per acre. How about in Vegas 3.2 million pounds of water per acre per year?

Quote

Originally posted by: JM2300

Quote
Originally posted by: CowboyKell
Quote
Originally posted by: forkushV
Quote
Originally posted by: CowboyKell
OK. Really now. I have, for a long time now, wondered why the casinos in Las Vegas do not replace all their urinals with the waterless kind you see in some places.
You might think this a joke but I'm serious! If all the urinals, which use .6 gallons a flush (and you cannot elect to NOT flush since they are automatic), in Vegas were replaced with waterless urinals the overall water savings would be HUGE...
Probably true, but in general the hotel-casinos a pretty good corporate citizens when it comes both water and energy use, and the newest ones are exceptional.

The problem in Vegas is all of the ridiculous lawns. Every square foot devours 73 gallons of water a year. A hundred years from now, people will be looking at old pictures and wonder how stupid and self-centered you have to be to live in a desert, but then waste all that water pretending you don't.

Is 73 gallons a year a typo? It seems low for a years worth of lawn irrigation. I am almost sure that I use much more than that and we don't have that large of a lawn footprint. Of course we are also required to keep the steep cliff/hill down to the water properly vegetated and irrigated to prevent erosion. We also have a pool and spa which use quite a bit due to evaporation. Even more so this past month with no 'June gloom' this year.

All this considered I would imagine that one large resort casino uses more water for urinals in one week than all the lawns combined for a year.
One step at a time. I will do my part by recommending no flush urinals!
(Sorry, not getting rid of my lawn or pool.)

forkushV

Jul 11, 2014
1:19pm

Block User

Quote

Originally posted by: JM2300

Quote
Originally posted by: CowboyKell
Quote
Originally posted by: forkushV
Quote
Originally posted by: CowboyKell
OK. Really now. I have, for a long time now, wondered why the casinos in Las Vegas do not replace all their urinals with the waterless kind you see in some places.
You might think this a joke but I'm serious! If all the urinals, which use .6 gallons a flush (and you cannot elect to NOT flush since they are automatic), in Vegas were replaced with waterless urinals the overall water savings would be HUGE...
Probably true, but in general the hotel-casinos a pretty good corporate citizens when it comes both water and energy use, and the newest ones are exceptional.

The problem in Vegas is all of the ridiculous lawns. Every square foot devours 73 gallons of water a year. A hundred years from now, people will be looking at old pictures and wonder how stupid and self-centered you have to be to live in a desert, but then waste all that water pretending you don't.

Is 73 gallons a year a typo? It seems low for a years worth of lawn irrigation. I am almost sure that I use much more than that and we don't have that large of a lawn footprint. Of course we are also required to keep the steep cliff/hill down to the water properly vegetated and irrigated to prevent erosion. We also have a pool and spa which use quite a bit due to evaporation. Even more so this past month with no 'June gloom' this year.

All this considered I would imagine that one large resort casino uses more water for urinals in one week than all the lawns combined for a year.
One step at a time. I will do my part by recommending no flush urinals!
(Sorry, not getting rid of my lawn or pool.)

Okay, Cowboy thinks the number is low, you think it's high, maybe you two should just fight it out.

But I got the 73 gallons per square foot number from the City of Las Vegas. But my HOA pays the bill for mine, so I'm no expert.

Boilerman

Jul 11, 2014
2:03pm

Block User

It's quite simple. For every 12 inches of water is a cubic foot per sq foot of grass. For every cubic foot is 7.5 gallons.

Quote

Originally posted by: forkushV

Quote
Originally posted by: JM2300
Quote
Originally posted by: CowboyKell
Quote
Originally posted by: forkushV
Quote
Originally posted by: CowboyKell
OK. Really now. I have, for a long time now, wondered why the casinos in Las Vegas do not replace all their urinals with the waterless kind you see in some places.
You might think this a joke but I'm serious! If all the urinals, which use .6 gallons a flush (and you cannot elect to NOT flush since they are automatic), in Vegas were replaced with waterless urinals the overall water savings would be HUGE...
Probably true, but in general the hotel-casinos a pretty good corporate citizens when it comes both water and energy use, and the newest ones are exceptional.

The problem in Vegas is all of the ridiculous lawns. Every square foot devours 73 gallons of water a year. A hundred years from now, people will be looking at old pictures and wonder how stupid and self-centered you have to be to live in a desert, but then waste all that water pretending you don't.

Is 73 gallons a year a typo? It seems low for a years worth of lawn irrigation. I am almost sure that I use much more than that and we don't have that large of a lawn footprint. Of course we are also required to keep the steep cliff/hill down to the water properly vegetated and irrigated to prevent erosion. We also have a pool and spa which use quite a bit due to evaporation. Even more so this past month with no 'June gloom' this year.

All this considered I would imagine that one large resort casino uses more water for urinals in one week than all the lawns combined for a year.
One step at a time. I will do my part by recommending no flush urinals!
(Sorry, not getting rid of my lawn or pool.)

I agree completely about the lawns and I think Las Vegas is now limiting (new)lawns and will help in lawn conversions to crushed stone, etc.
But 73 gallons yearly per square foot?
An acre has 43,560 square feet and if a grass yard the average yearly use is 3,179,880 gallons of water?

TsuDoNihm

Jul 11, 2014
9:45pm

Block User

Quote

Originally posted by: 12251n
I always thought Vegas got their water from the huge aquifer under the valley and people were worried about depleting that.

The water comes from a number of places, and they are working towards reducing the amount needed from the Colorado River. This report from the Southern Nevada Water Authority has a lot of details, (with pretty pictures too). It's a lot better than counting sheep if you're having trouble falling asleep.

From that report:

Quote
The SNWA has acquired and continues to develop a significant number of in-state groundwater resources. These resources are intended to provide Southern Nevada with a more balanced mix of Colorado River water and non-Colorado River water than currently exists.

CowboyKell

Jul 12, 2014
12:38am

Block User

I missed the sq. foot part. I thought it was per avg. lawn, which would be really low. Per sq. foot, that's probably close.

We have tiered billing for water. I have always managed to stay within our alloted water budget even with landscaping and the pool. Though we probably have much less evaporation than even one mile inland. That doesn't mean it's not a lot or wasteful.
Water is a big deal here in the west. The wife's firm has it's own department dedicated to water rights.

jatki

Jul 14, 2014
6:12am

Block User

We're running out of water in other places too, like a super-duper important area, the one that feeds a significant amount of people.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/12/how-long-before-the-midwest-runs-out-of-water/

How long before the Great Plains runs out of water?

The sprawling Ogallala Aquifer in the Great Plains provides freshwater for roughly one-fifth of the wheat, corn, cattle and cotton in the United States. But key parts of the underwater aquifer are being depleted faster than they can be recharged by rain

The depletion problem

Aquifers have taken on increasing importance in the last few years as U.S. food production has expanded and drought has become a nagging issue. In regions like western Kansas, where farmers haven't been getting enough rain for their crops, they've depended on irrigation, pulling up water from the Ogallala.

As a result, the aquifer is slowly getting depleted, with the water table dropping by as much as two feet per year in some counties. And once they drain, it could take hundreds or thousands of years for those ancient aquifers, which were first formed millions of years ago, to fully recharge with rainfall.

Dan Svatass

Jul 14, 2014
6:28am

Block User

Quote

Originally posted by: CowboyKell
Sorry, not getting rid of my lawn or pool.

CowboyKell

Jul 14, 2014
7:56am

Block User

Yep. That would be me.

I'm going to live a comfortable and easy life.

Its a crowded world. Some are going to make it, some are not.

I do suggest replacing that glass house before your stones break something. After all I'm pretty sure you use more resources than is your fair share.

Dan Svatass

Jul 14, 2014
8:54am

Block User

Quote

Originally posted by: CowboyKell
Yep. That would be me.

I'm going to live a comfortable and easy life.

No doubt. We'll both likely die before the consequences of our lifestyles really hit, though I do envy a cat with Nine Lives.

It's mostly the kids we should both worry about.

«‹3 ›»

Already a LVA subscriber?
To continue reading, choose an option below:

Diamond Membership

$3 per month

Unlimited access to LVA website

Exclusive subscriber-only content

Limited Member Rewards Online

Join Now

Platinum Membership

$50 per year

Unlimited access to LVA website

Exclusive subscriber-only content

Exclusive Member Rewards Book

Join Now