It's no secret that Las Vegas (along with much of the rest of the world) has a growing water problem. The Southern Nevada Water Authority depends on the Colorado River for 90 percent of its water-resource needs, and the Colorado River Basin is experiencing severe drought conditions, while the population dependent upon it continues to grow. Hence, SNWA has embarked upon an extensive program of water conservation measures aimed at significantly lowering projected water demands over the next 50 years.
While a number of resort-casinos make ostentatious use of water – the Bellagio fountain show, the Sirens of TI, the Venetian's canals, to name just three – and all those hotel rooms add up to a lot of showers, baths, flushing toilets, swimming pools, and golf courses, it's actually the residential population that's the big devourer of water in Las Vegas. Monthly household water use is estimated at nearly 23,000 gallons in Nevada, compared with the national average of about 12,000 gallons. The SNWA's goal is to conserve 199 gallons per capita per day (GPCD) by 2035, which, if the ambition is realized, will reduce overall use by more than 50 GPCD and save the community approximately 276,000 acre-feet of water per year. That's a lot.
This is not to say that the hotels and casinos aren’t taking conservation seriously too, however, and in recent years many properties have introduced a wide range of eco-friendly measures. How much of this is "greenwashing" is hard to say: It's difficult to argue that any business consuming as much power as a resort-casino does, or that builds golf courses in the desert, is "environmentally friendly." Back in 2000 the Luxor took measures to increase the efficiency of its famous lightbeam, which enabled them to reduce the number of 7,000-watt xenon lamps from 45 to 39. But that's still 39 7,000-watt xenon lamps that serve no practical purpose.
In a recent in-depth report by Newsweek, which ranked the top 500 biggest "green" companies in America, Las Vegas Sands ranked the highest of all casino groups coming in at #128, with MGM Mirage at #184, and Wynn Resorts at #176. Hardly stellar. Harrah's Entertainment, which prides itself on its company-wide "Code Green" program, didn't even make the grade.
However, credit must be given where it’s due and as you can see in our Las Vegas Green Hotel Guide, a number of properties have taken some pretty giant strides, including switching slot machine lighting to LEDs, introducing multiple recycling and composting programs, using environmentally-friendly cleaning products, eliminating Styrofoam, introducing energy-efficient hot water heating, using solar power to heat pools, and purchasing renewable energy credits. Palazzo is currently the largest LEED certified building in the nation (it was awarded Silver LEED status in 2008) and CityCenter is striving to achieve LEED certification for all its elements. And just to prove that you can teach an old dog new tricks, the Golden Gate -- Las Vegas' oldest casino -- is in the process of switching entirely to geothermal power for its hot water.
In the realm of water conservation in particular, there have been a lot of improvements in recent years. Both the fountain show and the pool in Cirque du Soleil's O at Bellagio use non-potable well water. We checked with the reader who submitted this question, who informed us that it was at the Wynn and Gold Coast that they'd seen artificial turf. We know that Palazzo also uses artificial turf and we spoke with a local artificial-turf company, who said they'd worked with a number of hotel-casinos (although they hung up when we asked them which ones).
Caesars Palace has introduced water-efficient shower heads and replaced 30,000 feet of grounds with xeriscaping – landscaping that replaces water-dependent plants with drought-resistant foliage. The Las Vegas Hilton also has xeriscaped grounds and has introduced reverse osmosis water stations in lieu of bottled water. MGM Mirage group invested heavily in elaborate drip-irrigation systems for its properties, with computer-controlled delivery of water that eliminates wastage. They also have improved their soil with organic fertilizer (made from worm droppings, they kindly informed us!) All Station Casino properties, and the Excalibur, participate in the SNWA's Linen Exchange Program: Participating hotels agree to only change linens and towels once every three days during a guest's stay, unless otherwise requested.
That's just a taste of some of the initiatives that have been introduced in recent years, with more and more properties opting to clean up their act environmentally. Of course, there's a financial incentive behind much of this, but we can't fault any business for making moves to save money that also lessen its environmental impact. For more information about all these projects, plus Las Vegas' most eco-friendly eateries and attractions, check out our ever-expanding Green Vegas Guide. Plus, to keep up with news stories about "green" casino initiatives both in Las Vegas and nationwide, plus events, tips, and other news, sign up to follow our GreenVegas Twitter.
