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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL * October 11, 1949 % Lake W ater Only Salvation for Valley After '52 Las Vegas has reached the end of the road so far as its present water supply is concerned. The underground reservoir can be count­ed on to serve ONLY today's population with existing conditions of Even with rigid economy and I elimination of all wastage of wa- j ter, the artesian wells ‘can not! ineet the demand beyond 1952 if that long. The only source of additional, supply is Lake Mead. The Las Vegas Land & Waterj company is not interested in! making the capital investment! necessary to bring in water from this reservoir. The only agency in a position to cover the necessary ground is the Las Vegas Valley waterj district. Officials of the Las Vegas Land and Water company are I ready and willing to negotiate the sale of their utility to the district if a fair price Can bej agreed upon. Immediate action will be nec-J essary if ANY expansion, of Lasj Vegas population is expected. Facilities for bringing water; in from Lake Mead must, at any cost, be ready by 1952, the deadline beyond which the water company officials say they can­not see their way clear to serve more than the present popu­lation. This was the picture presen­ted this morning at a meeting attended by officials of the water company, members of the Ne­vada public service commission, Mayor E. W. Cragin and mem­bers of the Las Vegas city com­mission, Chairman Harry Miller and directors of the water dis­trict, representatives of the state engineer’s office and the Nevada Colorado river commission. William Reinhardt, vice presi­dent of the water company, laid I out the facts carefully and an curately. He said the community is now drawing more heavily on t h e underground water supply than it is being-replenished, and that this situation cannot continue in- ! definitely... . “ Use of water In Las Vegas has gone way beyond our ca­pacity to supply it,” he de­clared. Pointiiig out that elimination (Continued On Page 2) ! Water (Continued From Page 1) of present wastage might allow for a growth of an additional 25 precent, Reinhardt said that even this was open to question and that the community could figure safely only on continuing to serve the present population , o , » + o c i t n n . r o c o r v o i v p ill U ic a ib c o x a u j.vuh/1. iw u . . He said officials of his com-iny were convinced the one so-jtion is in pumping water from ike Mead and that the utility Was not interested in making d-.at investment. Uhairman Allard of the public 3 rvice commission directed (l ieinhardt’s attention to the im- ? iediate future and asked what t ie company proposes to do to *|void a recurrence of last sum-ier’s critical shortage of water. .Reinhardt declared that con­traction shortly would be un-jertaken of additional mains in Aie affected areas as well as Jhe business district to equalize Ihe pressure and assure an even Hivision of the water available. , “ People in Huntridge, Four­teenth street, and Westside ; sections will not be any worse • off next summer than the rest of the city,” he promised, “ but this will not answer the question of adequate supply. “ We can pump just so much Water from the underground res­ervoir,” Reinhardt explained. '‘That amount must be divided imong all the consumers. There S simply not enough to take [are of the peak summer de-hand developed this year.” The answer, he insisted, is rig-ji enforcement of existing city rdinances forbidding waste of rater or the installation of water peters, now prohibited by law. | “ If the city will crack down n the wasters, we can get by Jntil the water district takes 4ver and brings in additional Jupply from Lake Mead. We . flan’t go any further and we may Is well face it,” Reinhardt said, j Water company officials will jneet with directors of the water listrict tomorrow morning to liscuss acquisition of the util-rcy as the backbone of the pro­gram to pump from Lake Mead. [ Reinhardt assured all present [hat the company was ready and villing to cooperate in every vay possible and that he saw no ibstacles in the path of an early Consummation of negotiations. — ---o----