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i Number of Average Revenue Year Consumers per Customer ^ 9 4 9 ........... ......... ' • ' ' . ~ • ’_____„„ ........L........ ...... 7,834 25.50 1950 ....... ............ ............ . . .................... ...................... 8,331 26.60 1951 ................. 9,101 28.50 1952....................................|.............. ................................................ 9,765 33.00 1 9 5 3 ........................................ ................................... ......... 11,632 35.30 T h e M ontgom ery report proposes increasing w ater charges a flat 134%. T h e typical bill will be $6.25 per m onth, or $75 per year. In view of the average annual revenue per custom er reported b y M on tgom ery o f $80 in San D iego, $78 in San Francisco and $78 in B everly H ills, a $75 rate for a desert area does not appear unreasonable. It is estim ated that the D istrict w ill take over approxim ately 12,800 services on or about M ay 1, 1954. T h e revenue for the eight m onths M ay 1 to D ecem ber 31, 1954, is estim ated to be $640,000. Revenues fo r subsequent years are estim ated from the populations and num ber of services (at 3.2 persons per service) tabulated on page 15. Charges begin at $75 per year per serv ice; estim ated reductions in subsequent years w ould perm it a $50 annual charge b y 1978. IN S T A L L A T IO N O F W A T E R M E T E R S It is recom m ended in the Greeley & H ansen, M ontgom ery, and Black & V eatch engineering reports that the Las V ega s V alley W ater D istrict install meters on its service connections. Funds are available for this purpose in the M ontgom ery cost estim ate under the heading “ M iscellaneous additional im provem ents to distribution system ” . If meters w ere to be installed, the M ontgom ery report recom m ends the follow in g rate structure, as one w hich w ould be workable and w hich w ould produce sufficient revenues to m eet the anticipated costs of operating expendi­tures, debt service, reserve for contingencies and additions and extensions to the system : M inim um m onthly charge, y&" m eter...........................-....... $3.00 (A llow ance, 5,000 gallons) 5.000 to 25,000 gallons per m onth.............................................................30 per 1,000 gallons 25.000 to 250,000 gallons per m onth........................................................22 per 1,000 gallons O ver 250,000 gallons per m onth..................................................... -18 per 1,000 gallons W ith respect to the installation of water meters by the D istrict, attention is called to Section 6112, N evada Com piled Law s (bein g a portion of the P ublic Service Com m ission A ct o f the State o f N evada), w hich provides in part as fo llo w s: “ T h e [public service] com m ission m ay, w hen necessary, ascertain and prescribe for each kind o f public utility adequate, convenient and serviceable standards for the measurement of quality, pressure, voltage or other conditions pertaining to the supply o f the product or service rendered by any public utility, and prescribe reasonable regulations for the examination and testing of such products or service and for the measurement thereof. A n y consum er, user or party served m ay have the quality or quantity of the product or the character o f any service rendered b y any public utility tested upon the paym ent o f fees fixed b y the com m ission, w hich fees, how ever, shall be paid by the public utility and repaid to the com plaining party if the quality or quantity o f the product or the character o f the service be found b y the com m ission defective or insufficient in a degree to justify the demand for testin g, or the com m ission m ay apportion the fees betw een the parties as justice m ay require, provided, that it shall be unlawful for any public utility, for any purpose or object whatever, in any city or town containing more than four thousand five hundred inhabitants, to install, operate or use, within such city or town, any mechanical water meter, or similar mechanical device, to measure the quantity of water delivered to water users ; provided further, that nothing in the immediate foregoing proviso shall apply to cities and towns owning and operating municipal water works.” (Em phasis added.) T h e territory o f the City o f Las V egas is . the only portion o f the D istrict affected b y the foregoin g statute. T h e other tw o cities (N orth Las V egas and H enderson) have m unicipally ow ned and operated water system s. U nincorporated territory is n ot subject to the provisions of the statute. 21 m Section 6112 m ay not be applicable to the W ater District, in view of the follow in g provisions o f the D istrict A c t : Section 1 and subparagraph 6 thereof contain in part the follow in g : “ A water district m ay be created in the Las V egas valley, as hereinafter provided for, for the follow in g objects and p u rp oses: . . . to conserve and reclaim water for present and future use within the district; to appropriate and acquire water and water rights and im port water into the district and to conserve the same within the district, for any useful purpose o f the district. . . . ” Section 19 provides in part as fo llo w s : “ This act shall in itself constitute com plete authority for the doing o f the things herein authorized to be done. T h e provisions o f no other law, either general or local, except as provided in this act, shall apply to doing of the things herein authorized to be done, and no board, agency, bureau or official, other than the governing b od y o f the district ,and-the public service com m ission o f-th e ’ State ' of N evada shall have any authority or jurisdiction over the d oin g o f any o f the acts herein authorized to be done nor shall any proceedings, nor publication notice o f election be required for the doing o f such acts except as herein specifically required.” Chapter 307, N evada Statutes, 1951, amended Section 19 by deleting the w ords “ and the public service com m ission o f the State o f N evada” show n above by strike-out type. T h e Board o f D irectors o f the D istrict believes that flat rates result in an uncontrollable waste o f water and that substantial quantities can be saved b y the installation o f water meters. T h e Board at this time expects to install meters, and if litigation is instituted to prevent meter installation, the D istrict w ill assert and defend its right to provide metered water service. If a court holds that the D istrict is w ithout pow er to install meters within the City o f Las V egas, then it is the intention o f the Board of D irectors to seek the necessary legislation to authorize the D istrict to install meters therein. A lthough the D istrict’s p olicy is to provide for the installation o f meters, in the interests of conservatism all projections o f revenues and water consum ption in this Statement have been m ade on a flat-rate basis. T h e proposed flat rates are som ew hat low er than the com parable metered rates recom m ended b y the Engineers and therefore result in low er projected revenues. T h e installation o f water meters w ill undoubtedly result in a reduction o f water consum ption, thereby prolonging the expected life o f w ater supplies beyond the dates anticipated in flat-rate projections. A lthough meter installation will tend to increase operating costs, this additional cost w ill be offset to a large extent b y a reduction in the cost of water production. A n additional reason for using flat-rate projections has been to make the projected D istrict data com parable to the past data of the Las V egas Land and W ater Com pany, all of which has been based upon flat rates. W ater Rights: Pursuant to contract, the D istrict will acquire from the Las V egas Land and W ater Com pany, am ong other properties, water rights to an aggregate o f 23.37 c.f.s. (16,919 acre feet) of water annually from the underground waters o f the Las V egas Valley. In addition to its underground rights, the D istrict has certain additional rights to waters o f the C olorado River. T h e State o f N evada b y contract w ith the U nited States is entitled to annual delivery o f 300,000 acre feet of water from the C olorado River. T h e D istrict b y agreem ent w ith the State is entitled to annual delivery o f 43,000 acre feet from the 300,000 acre feet allotted to the State. T he State Engineer of N evada has granted the D istrict a perm it to annually appropriate for municipal purposes 59 c.f.s. (43,000 acre feet) o f C olorado R iver water from storage in Lake Mead. T h e D istrict has until January 24, 1962, in w hich to apply the appropriated wqter to beneficial use and to the extent it is so beneficially used it w ill ripen into a vested water right for that quantity. A n A ppendix to this Official Statement contains the O pinion of L eo A . M cN am ee o f the law firm of M cN am ee & M cN am ee, Las V egas, N evada, concerning the water rights ow ned or to be acquired by the District. 22