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\ ARTICLE IN LAS VEGAS JOURNAL - 7/31/50 Board May Put Vegas in W a te r Business The city commissioners this morning started machinery moving which ultimately may place Las Vegas in the. water business through the outright purchase of the Las Vegas Land and Water company and local water interests of the Union Pacific railroad. On motion of Commissioner Robert Moore, at a s p e c i a l meeting called to discuss the current acute water shortage, the board voted unanimously to call in its advisory com­mittee to in v e s t i g a t e the “possibility and feaseability’’ of entering into purchase nego­tiations. The city’s indirect bid to buy out the local water concern in the interest of improving ser­vice to Las Vegas consumers is the second in recent weeks. The Las Vegas valley water district also has expressed in­terest in the purchase. Commissioner Moore’s mo­tion was coupled with another by Commissioner Wendell Bun­ker which provided that the city attorney, be instructed to make formal demands on the ‘Nevada public service com­mission requiring the Las Ve­gas Land and Water company and the Union Pacific “to pro­ceed immediately to augment the present supply of water to the city.’’ Both motions were seconded by Commissioner William Peccole. It was agreed generally at today’s special meeting that Board May ] (Cantoned from Page One) f lawn watering restrictions and | added that while the bain was in effect a total of 50,000,000 gallonsof water a month were saved. > Mayor E. W. Cragin pointed out that unless local citizens agree to cooperate to a greater degree in Water conservation, the restrictions will be restored. | A. M. Folger, general man­ager of the Las Vegas Land and Water company, said a total of 17,000,000 gallons of ; water a day are presently be­ing pumped from 11 wells. It also was proposed that the United States government, as a defense measure due to eur- | rent war conditions, be ap­proached with proposals to aid in financing importation qf water from Lake Mead. In addition to representatives ! of the water company and rail- . | road, Charles V. Williams, ? member of the Nevada public service commission, was also .present at the meeting. He was called in by the com­missioners to conduct an ex­haustive inquiry into present ; .conditions and report his find- . "ings back to the board at the ^ .earliest possible moment, i.-;? complete resources of the ,Las ; Vegas water basin have not been fully tapped,-despite con­tentions by representatives of the water company and Union Pacific that the underground supply is ebbing swiftly and additional water is unavailable unless piped from Lake Mead. It was estimated that to bring water from the lake- Would cost approximately S5,- - 000,000 and spokesmen for the water company and railroad said they were not prepared at this time to undertake the ex­pense. E. E. Bennett, general s o l i ­citor for the Union PacifWof Lbs Angeles, assailed the city fathers’ action of lifting, the (Continued on Page Two)/ .