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Tuesday, July 17, 1951 Las Vegas Review-Journal Water Line Extension Ban Looms Facing a critical water shortage in the Las Vegas val­ley during the coming two months, the Las Vegas Lane and Water company today petitioned the public service commission for authority to deny water service to any new prospective water users in the area after August 15. The application asks for ap- '--------'-------- “ proval of two changes in the re­gulations: 1— The company will make no extension of its mains to pro­vide water service in the areas of the city of Las Vegas: not theretofore served by water mains of the company subse- , quent to August 15, 1951, unless - a contract *for such extension of t mains....shall have been enter­ed into prior to August 15, 1951; e 2— The company will make t noi new connections for water V service to any domestic, com- : mercial, or industrial estab- } lishment after September 1, ' 1951, unless application shall have been made to the com­pany prior to September 1, 1951} No such application shall be accepted unless such es­tablishment is completed or under construction on Septem­ber 1, 1951. In support of the application the company points out' that, the sole source of water lor the val­ley is the underground flow and that this source is rapidly being depleted, mainly because of a lack of snowfall in the moun­tains. The company also calls at­tention to the fact that the population of the area has in­creased more than 20 percent during the last five years and that a resultant rapid rise in the consummation of water has been noted. As a result, the company says, there ,is a prospect of a serious water shortage in the very near future and every possible cur­tailment of water use should be placed in effect immediately. The* company requests that the changes in regulation be made an emergency order of the pub­lic service commission, and that they go into effect immediately i without a public hearing being j held. .