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LAS VEGAS EVENING REVIEW-JOURNAL % M? I • . JULY 1?TH, 1934 U. P. Railroad O fficia ls Sift Problem Here All available water engineers on the Los Angeles & Salt Lake sys­tem, were being mobilized in Las Vegas today to form the board of strategy in the. battle against a : serious water shortage which is due to strike this: city within the next week or ten days unless dras­tic measures are inaugurated to curtail usage, it was revealed this morning by Walter R. Bracken, vice president and general manager of the Las Vegas Land & Water company. First to arrive was A. L. Goey, i | general superintendent of the Los Angeles & Salt Lake railroad, who is acting as directing head in the battle, and who has summoned George Wilson, B:. & B. superin- i f tendent, Mel y'Andei'Son, . general j water engineer for the System; Wynn, head of the wafer sem ce I department; and B. H. Prater, chief engineer of the system. Plans already decided upon to meet the emergency include; j 1. — Restriction of hours for wa­tering lawns to evening and night. 2. — Curtailment of use of water for cooling and refrigeration : systems thru installation of sumps whereby water can bej used over and over again, j instead of being pumped thru the system and on into the sewer. | 3.— Application of a supple-j mentary rate for heavy w a -! ter Users, expected to cur- i tail usage. ? 4.—Passage of a drastic city dr-1 dinance providing .heavy pen-1 alties for those who waste i water. Bracken stated an application j j had already been made to the pub- ! lie service commission for a sup-j plementary rate for heavier users ; of water, and had been approved j by wire today. In addition to these measures, a j water company' engineer will make an inspection of all water taps in j the city to be sure there is no waste [ from leaky valves. Railroad company employees were instructed to- make similar tests of all water tapis in the rail-, road yards, and all of the railroad load possible will be drawn from | the emergency well in the yards J j Which has been pumping 10 hours | a day and will start On a 24-hour. ;• schedule tonight. Bracken revealed that the 2,- 500,000 gallon reserve reservoir, [held for emergencies, has been half- I drained thru excess use of water, j which means that the wells are j not meeting the regular daily de- ! mand, and that as soon as the res- ; ervoir is drained, there will be an [ acute shortage if steps are not taken to conserve water. An emergency meeting of the j Las Vegas city commissioners has been called for tonight to consider j plans for meeting the emergency thru proper legislation. just when these measures will all be put into effect, will not be. definitely known until tomorrow, I Coey said. The shortage is riot due to any i decrease in the flow of the artesian wells Supplying the city mains, Cotey said, but to Vastly increased Usage.. In 1928 the available supply totalled 5,783,000 gallons per day, and during the prist summer th e, | flow from the wells has been 5,- I 1412,400 gallons, slightly iess, but j not eriough to make any ripprecia-j 1 ble difference, Coey explained. "Water supplied to the Old Ranch; j Will be curtailed in favor of the ! city supply, Coey announced, and ; } Said engineers were being called in I • to clean Out the spring which is ; J the source of this supply, so it can ! be turned into the Citv mains.