The Las Vegas Valley Water District will fine businesses and homeowners associations in the new year if they continue to use water from Lake Mead to irrigate grass it has deemed “nonfunctional.” A page on the water district’s website said that beginning Jan. 1, irrigation of decorative grass will be classified as water waste and come with fines. Those fines, if approved, will range from $80 for a first offense on a water meter sized for most residential homes to $5,120 for the fifth offense on the largest water meter size. It’s the first time Southern Nevada water managers have told the public how they intend to enforce Assembly Bill 356, a controversial 2021 law that banned using Colorado River water to irrigate turf that agencies consider nonfunctional or decorative.

Other Colorado River management news:

• KJZZ (Phoenix): Amazon has pledged $20M for Colorado River conservation. Why big companies care about saving water
• Smart Water Magazine: Amazon commits $20 million to Colorado River conservation
• Arizona Capitol Times (Phoenix): Opinion: Arizona’s water providers are preparing today to protect our water tomorrow
• Sky-Hi News (Granby, Colo.): Opinion: Protecting Grand County’s Colorado River headwaters starts with knowing the numbers
• Congressman Andy Biggs: News release: What they are saying about the Colorado River Basin Water Security and Infrastructure Act