The ‘water cops’ of Las Vegas make city a model in drought-hit US
Known around the world as an oasis of overindulgence, the desert city of Las Vegas has emerged as a surprising model of austerity and prudence when it comes to water. Some 2.3 million people live in the arid Las Vegas Valley, and 40 million tourists are drawn each year to its giant casinos and hotels. Yet because Nevada is allowed to use less than two percent of the drought-hit Colorado River’s total water, it has taken drastic action, from banning lawns to capping the size of swimming pools. Even as the region’s population has exploded by more than half in the past two decades, use of the mighty but dwindling river—by far Las Vegas’s main water source—has declined by almost a third.
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