RGJ Drought Investigation

SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2015
RGJ
ONLINE AT RGJ.COM
INVESTIGATES
WATER USE GROWS

DESPITE DROUGHT
As Lake Tahoe sits below its rim and the water utility taps emergency reserves, our
community is being asked to cut water use by 10 percent. Today, we present the
findings of a yearlong investigation by reporter Jeff DeLong into residential water use.
JOIN THE WATER SAVERS CLUB
By Jeff DeLong | jdelong@rgj.com
ot enough rain. Too little snow. Going on four years now, drought has
sapped moisture from the waterways that make life possible in this high
desert.
Lake Tahoe is too low to pour its waters into the Truckee River, which
feeds Reno and Sparks homes and businesses. Reservoirs holding emergency supplies show rings like a drained bathtub as waters recede. And
in a community where half the residential water used goes on lawns and
gardens, this question persists: Are we saving enough to stay viable until the rain and snow
return?
The Reno Gazette-Journal analyzed thousands of records from Truckee Meadows Water Authority to tell the story of how our community uses water. Key findings include:
Our community uses more water now than in 2011, the last year with a healthy snowpack . Four years ago, residential and business customers consumed 18.8 billion gallons of
water. In 2014 they drank up 21.3 billion gallons a 13 percent increase.
Our average household use has gone up: In 2011, residents used on average 117,000 gallons. In 2014, that number was 121,000 gallons. For a typical home, 61,000 of those gallons
went to landscaping.
When people are not billed on a meter, they use dramatically more water. In 2014, the
See DROUGHT, Page 3A
Weve put together the free RGJ Water Savers

Club to help you conserve in this time of drought.
Members can win prizes by tracking their water
use, and well share tips and hold events to make
us a more water-savvy community.
Find out more on page 9A
INSIDE
See a breakdown of the data that shows where
our water goes. 4A
One more dry year and the drought now gripping
Northern Nevada will be the worst on record. Will
we have enough water to see us through? 5A
The long debate over how the utility charges for
water by meter or flat rate is drawing to a
close. 6A
RGJ reporter Guy Clifton was caught by surprise
when he found out he was one of the regions top
water users. 8A
Whos on the Truckee Meadows Water Authority
that controls our shared natural resource? 8A
The Truckee River barely covers the rocks in its bed as it flows toward downtown Reno on June 17. RGJ PHOTO BY JASON BEAN/GANNETT ILLUSTRATION
ONLY IN THE SUNDAY RGJ

SPORTS
Q&A with Wolf Pack alum

and NBA vet Ramon Sessions
Theres no prouder Wolf Pack basketball alum than
Ramon Sessions. The point guard, who guided Nevada to three NCAA tournaments, just finished his
eighth season in the NBA, giving him the longest
NBA career of any Wolf Pack player. He returns to
Reno on Monday for a basketball camp. 1C
BEST FATHERS DAY EVER
Guardsman surprises family

After a year in Afghanistan, Nevada National Guard
pilot Glen Spadin came home Friday, surprising his
children at the Reno Rodeo. 1C
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A FRESH LOOK AT RENO: Architect Ed Friedrichs
eyes light up as he talks about his new hometown
and its potential for design, use, approachability and
solutions. 1D
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Home delivery pricing inside
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3A
RGJ INVESTIGATES: SIERRA DROUGHT
Series examines water use in time of drought

This reporting on our regions water
use is the first in a four-part series
examining the droughts effects on our
way of life in the Truckee Meadows.
We will bring you
more in the months ahead
an examination of commercial water use in July,
a look at the relationship
between water and agriculture in August, and we
will finish in September
KELLY
SCOTT
with a deep dive into the
question of what is the
future of our water system.
To do this reporting, we requested
public data a year ago from the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, including the top 1,000 users in many different categories. While the water author-
ity initially denied the request, the

RGJ used Nevadas Open Records Law
to obtain this data.
Our reporting isnt intended to
shame the top users; its intended to
give our community the facts we need
about our water use so that a meaningful conversation about our future can
ensue. Thats why weve included a
digital map of the top users in our area
without naming them.
The reporting reveals a fact about
our communitys water use that surprised me: Despite the increased
awareness of the drought, as a community we used more water in 2014 than
we did in 2011, the last year we had a
healthy snowpack.
Even water use here at RGJ Media
mirrors that trend. While we will re-
port on our own use in our examination

of commercial water consumption, we
need to acknowledge now that we, too,
used more water in 2014 than we did in
2011.
In 2011, the RGJ used 4.1 million
gallons, making us the 134th highest
commercial user in TMWA, according
to our analysis. And, in 2014, we used
4.9 million gallons and ranked No. 124
in commercial use, the analysis found.
In the last two months, weve made
changes to our landscaping and irrigation system aimed at reducing water
use. And were in the first stages of
asking for a water audit from TMWA
to examine other ways we can conserve.
Were also introducing the RGJ
Water Savers Club today to help you
find ways to conserve, track your use

and share your tips and tricks. We are
planning several events to help you
learn more about water in our region.
The clubs goal is to help one another
save 5 million gallons.
I have already signed up and am
eager to track the results from watersaving irrigation systems that I installed in my garden. Ill be sharing my
results through the club, too.
Im hopeful that this reporting will
help Northern Nevadans understand
their day-to-day use. Its hard to know
if youre using more than the average
person without understanding the
baselines for our community and
our reporting provides you that.
Kelly Ann Scott,
executive editor of RGJ Media
Drought
ANDY BARRON/RGJ
Washoe Lake has disappeared in this fourth year of dismal precipitation. One more below-average winter will qualify this drought as the worst on record.
DROUGHT: REACHING
A TIPPING POINT
Continued from Page 1A
average flat-rate home consumed

281,000 gallons, more than double the
121,000 gallons the average metered
home used. Although just 7 percent of
residential customers in homes and
apartments are billed on a flat rate,
they accounted for 20 percent of the residential water used last year.
While water officials say theyre prepared to handle another dry year, its the
possibility of the next dry year that worries them.
It could be a tipping point in terms of
answering whether this is the worst
drought on record, said Mark Foree,
general manager of TMWA.
Right now I would say its not. Another very dry year could tell us we now
have a new, worst drought on record.
Such tipping points can alter water
policy across the West, said Buzz
Thompson, an expert in environmental
resources at Stanford Law School.
Every prior drought I have seen has
led to some type of significant change in
the way we manage water, Thompson
said.
Weather, growth play role

After the Sierras driest winter on
record extended the drought to its fourth
year, water systems are being challenged to a degree some describe as unprecedented.
Yet here in Northern Nevada, TMWA
customers used more water in 2014 than
in 2011, the last year of normal precipitation, according to the RGJ analysis.
TMWAs 77,675 metered residential
customers out of 92,538 total customers used 1.2 billion gallons more in
2014 than in 2011. That was a 12.2 percent
increase, according to the RGJ analysis.
Factors contributing to the increase
include the weather patterns and economy.
Fall of 2014 was warmer than usual,
driving up water use in October and November, Foree said.

Water use is very dependent on what
the weather is doing, he said. 2011 was
a really, really wet year. 2014 was a really, really dry year.
Then theres the improving economy.
About 2,000 more buildings are occupied
now than in 2011. And as residents have
started to see an economic uptick,
theyre using more water, Foree said.
Despite the increase, Northern Nevadans appear to be looking for ways to
conserve and cut back when asked.
TMWA residential customers cut water use in August and September 2014 by
11 percent, saving 1.6 billion gallons,
when the utility asked for a 10 percent reduction.
Aided by spring rains, water use this
year dropped 19 percent in May compared to the same month in 2013.
Water officials also have seen an upsurge in the water audits they conduct to
detect water-wasting problems such as
seeping pipes or leaking toilets.
After an article by the RGJ highlighted the free program, the number of audits conducted in September and October 2014 shot up by more than 50 percent.
That pattern appears to be holding true
in 2015.
Its very popular, said Andy Gebhardt, manager of customer services for
the utility.
I think more and more people are
trying to see what they can do.
Whos using the most?

The biggest residential water user in
the Truckee Meadows is a golf course no
one plays.
The 18-acre course, built decades ago
by the late gaming pioneer William Pennington for his personal use, consumed
11 million gallons in 2014. That water was
billed at a flat rate costing a fraction of
what average consumers pay per gallon.
And while the golf course had cut its

water use from 2013, its consumption
still dwarfed the rest of the top 10, which
used between 2.7 million and 4.6 million
gallons in 2014.
Of the top 10 users, nine were billed a
flat rate. Only No. 8 Rancharrah, the
southwest Reno estate owned by Harrah
Family Trust, was billed on a meter.
While the Pennington courses four
greens and 10 tee boxes may have had
some use in recent years, no one is golfing there anymore, said Kent Green,
manager of Western Equities LLC,
which owns the property at 2600 Greensboro Dr.
Its unplayable now. Its been unplayable for two years, Green said. I think
you would be better off going to one of
those sandlots.
Western Equities has taken measures
to reduce consumption and is now only
watering once a week across most of the
property.
Were just keeping it at the edge of
being alive, Green said. We cant let it
go too bad because it would just turn to
dust.
Green said recently repaired leaks in
a swimming pool and fountain are likely
to further reduce water use. So far this
year, the golf course has used 587,000
gallons, according to TMWA.
Another big water user trying to do
better is Chris Castel, whose South Arlington Avenue estate was once owned
by Charlie Mapes of Renos iconic Mapes
Hotel. Castel used more than 3.6 million
gallons in 2014, earning him the No. 5 position on the list of top water users.
Since Castel bought the estate in 2000,
hes spent more than $100,000 to upgrade
the system irrigating his tree-studded,
3.3-acre property and is in the process of
installing a state-of-the-art weather station that measures temperature, wind
and humidity to control irrigation by
computer.
Were working diligently to reduce
water during this time that were under

stress, Castel said. The road were on is
to try to get our utilization to the minimum possible without damaging the
trees.
Thomas Belaustegui, the No. 3 water
user in town, said a failing well forced
him to use TMWA water in recent years
on his 2.5-acre property. He plans to
deepen the well to lessen his need for
utility water and is also trying to cut
back on overall consumption. Belaustegui used 4.4 million gallons in 2014.
And while he is willing to reduce, Belaustegui sees a disconnect between requests to do so and ongoing growth.
I know we live in the desert, but how
come were building all these new
homes? Belaustegui said. Please dont
ask me to let my yard go dry to build
more apartments.
Were in the middle

States, counties and communities are
struggling with drought conditions
across the West.
Earlier this month, drought-stricken
California ordered farmers in the Sacramento, San Joaquin and delta watersheds to stop pumping water, one of the
largest cuts on record affecting holders
of senior water rights.
The Las Vegas area is dealing with a
drought even longer in duration than the
one affecting California and the RenoTahoe area.
Southern Nevadas drought, which officially started in 2002, has lowered
Lake Mead by about 130 feet, raising
concerns that if the drought continues,
water levels will drop too low to be accessed by intake lines, said Bronson
Mack, spokesman for the Southern Nevada Water Authority. The authority
provides water for 2 million residents
and 40 million annual visitors.
See DROUGHT, Page 4A
MEET THE REPORTER
MEET THE EDITOR
Jeff DeLong is RGJ Medias Home Means Nevada watchdog reporter.

He covers the environment, public land, transportation and other
issues important to Northern Nevada. Hes covered environmental
topics since 2000 and has worked at the Reno Gazette-Journal since
1996. You can reach him at jdelong@rgj.com or 775-788-6328.
Brian Duggan is the Watchdog Content Coach for RGJ Media, where he leads
journalism projects intended to affect positive change in our community. Hes
covered federal, state and local politics for various news organizations. He has
worked at the RGJ since 2011. You can reach him at bduggan@rgj.com or 775327-6761. Follow him on Twitter: @brianduggan.
RGJ.COM/SIERRADROUGHT
4A
A private golf course built by

gaming pioneer William
Pennington consumed some 11
million gallons in 2014, making
the property the Reno areas top
flat rate water user.
Drought
To address the danger of being cut off

from its major water source, the authority is now finishing work on an $817 million project to build a new 3-mile-long intake tunnel that will allow access to water at lower levels.
The Las Vegas area has substantially
reduced water consumption through aggressive conservation since the drought
began in 2002, Mack said. The authority
has spent $197 million in a program to
encourage people to remove turf, with
some 174 million square feet pulled out
so far.
The authority also initiated a mandatory assigned-day watering program
similar to the one in Reno-Sparks.
Its the right thing to do because we
live in the desert, Mack said. We as Nevadans have to be stewards of state resources.
When it comes to how much water
people in Washoe County consume compared to other Western communities,
the answer varies depending on where
you look.
In Washoe County, each person needed about 142 gallons a day in 2010 for domestic purposes like dishwashers,
showers and, especially, lawns. That figure is according to the latest survey of
public water supplies conducted by the
U.S. Geological Survey. Thats roughly
on par with similar Western communities such as Idahos Ada County, home to
Boise at 141 gallons a day per person
and Salt Lake County, Utahs 143 gallons.
Washoes water use looks conservative when compared to Weber County,
home to Ogden, Utah, north of Salt Lake
City. People there used 198 gallons per
day per person in 2010.

But compared to some of the largest
cities on the West Coast, Washoe County
is a water glutton.
Residents in San Francisco County
used 52 gallons a day. Washington County, Ore., which includes Portland suburbs, used about 54 gallons a day. Those
communities are, of course, on or near
the coast with cool and rainy conditions
significantly different from Renos high
desert climate. Many urban homes also
dont have water-hungry lawns.
In Clark County, people used about
126 gallons a day in 2010. Carson City
residents used about 134 gallons a day.
The remainder of Nevadas counties all
used 141 to 145 gallons a day in 2010.
Boise, a community similar to Reno in
makeup, is also making strides to reduce
water use after a dismal winter for
mountain snow, said Mark Snider,
spokesman for United Water Idaho, a
private firm that provides water to
about 240,000 people.
Since 2000, when 241,000 gallons
were used per metered customer (both
homes and businesses), consumption
has dropped to 172,000, down more than
28 percent, Snider said.
The private company does not have
authority under Idaho law to mandate
such programs as assigned-day watering but dedicates substantial attention to
conservation education, including distribution of thousands of kits containing
spray nozzles, hose timers and sensing
devices that shut off sprinklers when it
rains.
No. 1, we think, is a greater awareness of the need to conserve, Snider
said.
Lessons lead to changes

Other droughts have hit the West and
hit it hard.
One that has drawn widespread comparisons to the current situation was a
two-year dry span that occurred in 1976
and 1977, when the Sierra snowpack
reached an all-time low that wasnt exceeded in severity until this past winter.
Another lengthy drought occurred
from 1987 to 1994, an event that dried up
a stretch of the Truckee River in Reno
and brought Lake Tahoe below its natural rim for four and a half years during a
five-year period.
Following the 70s drought, officials
in many cities realized they only had one
water source, a situation that put them at
extreme risk. Many immediately started
efforts to tap groundwater or link to other water supplies as backup, said
Thompson, of Stanford.
During and after the drought that
ended in 1994, one change was a major
expansion in water conservation measures taken by communities, he said.
That happened in Reno.
The areas former private water provider, Sierra Pacific Power Co., initiated
conservation efforts still active to this
day assigned-day watering and water
waster patrols.
Before the drought, there were no restrictions on when homes and businesses
across the Truckee Meadows could water lawns and other landscaping. A system was established to assign watering
days based on address numbers, with
watering now allowed three days per
week.
In a program being significantly expanded this summer, utility employees
patrol the community looking for people
violating assigned-day watering rules or
otherwise wasting water.
Shortly after the water authority was
formed in 2001, Reno, Sparks and Washoe County agreed to give the utility authority to fine chronic water wasters.
While the program places an emphasis
on warnings and public education, more

than 100 citations which come with a
$25 fine for a first offense and $75 for
subsequent ones have been issued
over the years, utility officials said.
There was a big push on conservation, said Shane Stoddard, senior resource economist for the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, of changes in the
wake of the last drought. That was the
first significant drought this area had to
deal with in terms of municipal supplies.
In that way, it was a blessing to the community.
I think theres a lot of memory of that
last drought that caused people to be cognitive of their water use.
If the current drought continues into
a fifth year, the challenge of conservation will take on renewed urgency.
Thompson predicts a number of possibilities. Some coastal communities in
California are looking into desalination
of seawater. Thompson anticipates a
substantial increase in recycling wastewater, which he said is underused across
the West.
Thompson also expects many communities to rethink what they charge for
water, essentially making those who use
the most pay significantly more for every drop. Changing what people pay for
water is something TMWA would consider if the drought continues, water officials said.
Its a very effective way to have people conserve, Thompson said of changing the pricing structure. The advantage is that water charges dont hit the
poor. If youre just getting by and dont
use much water, you dont have to pay
much. But if youre somebody that uses
tremendous amounts, you will have incentive to use less.
I think were going to be seeing a lot
more of that.
COMING UP IN RGJ INVESTIGATES: SIERRA DROUGHT
LIVE CHAT
ONLINE MAP OF TOP USERS
JULY: The RGJ will analyze commercial water use in the Truckee Meadows.
Join us at 11 a.m. Wednesday

on RGJ.com for a live chat
with Bill Hauck, TMWA
water supply coordinator.
What neighborhoods are home to the biggest water users?

Go to RGJ.com/SierraDrought, where we have posted a map
of the top 1,000 metered and top 1,000 flat-rate water users
in Reno-Sparks and how much water they used in 2014.
AUGUST: How the drought is putting a stranglehold on Nevada agriculture.

SEPTEMBER: What is the future of our water system if the drought persists?
5A
DO WE DO ENOUGH
TO SAVE WATER?
By Jeff DeLong
jdelong@rgj.com
Just about everyone thought three

would be it.
Three winters of disappointing snowfall. Three seasons of wilting crops and
drying forests. Three hot summers of
dropping rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
A respite was not to be. With the past
winter the driest yet, Nevada is firmly
stuck in a drought now four years in duration.
For the Reno-Tahoe area, the most significant impact is the drop-by-drop loss
of precious water a problem serious
enough that the regions major water
provider might be forced to raise the
cost of water, at least for some, next year.
Lake Tahoe, the regions most important reservoir, has been at or below its
natural rim for eight months, cutting off
flow into the Truckee River. All the rivers other reservoirs are way down as
well. And, the river is flowing at levels
not seen last year until the middle of
summer.
To meet demand, backup water supplies will soon be needed and Reno-area
residents and businesses are already being asked to cut water use.
In this drought-vulnerable place
about to grow significantly, some critics
suggest not enough is being done to conserve limited water supplies and say the
current drought is making the problem
all too clear.
This drought, quite frankly, has exceeded anything weve ever known before. Were really in uncharted territory, said Susan Lynn, a Reno conservationist and water expert.
It is totally critical that we have water, Lynn said. We cant live without it,
but we waste a heck of a lot of it.
While the situation may be serious,
its not unprecedented, and well-laid
plans are in place to survive extended
drought, counters Mark Foree, general
manager of the Truckee Meadows Water
Authority.
Weve been here before and worse,
Foree said, referring to the eight-year
drought that ended in 1994. Weve been
planning for droughts like this for years.
I know certainly there are opposing
points of view out there, but I have a tremendous amount of confidence.
That said, the situations severity is
emphasized in a number of ways:
For the second summer in a row, the
water authority is asking customers to
reduce water consumption by 10 percent
more if possible in an effort to save
about 1.6 billion gallons of water and
maintain adequate supplies through the
summer.
For the second summer, the utility
will tap drought reserves stored in upstream reservoirs. Before 2014, it hadnt
needed to do so since the tail end of that
lengthy drought 20 years earlier.
Drought conditions renewed debate and led to a final decision over
the need to switch the last remaining
flat-rate water customers to metered
service, which encourages conservation. Flat-rate customers are billed the
same amount no matter how much water
they use, while those on metered service
are billed on the actual amount of water
consumed. With few exceptions, all wa-
ter customers will be billed with meters

come Oct. 1.
Should the drought continue,
theres a possibility the water authority
might next year consider altering billing
practices to charge those using the most
water significantly more than under the
utilitys current practices. High water
users could be charged more per gallon
than those using less, or everyone could
pay more for water during summer
months or during periods of drought.
Is our drought plan adequate?

Steps such as forcing all customers
onto a water meter and charging significantly more money for heavy users are
overdue, insists Lynn, a 17-year member
of the former Regional Water Planning
Commission and a 10-year volunteer
with the Great Basin Water Network.
Lynn said existing drought plans may
appear sufficient in the context of
droughts experienced in recent history.
Its the possibility of a new normal of
extended droughts that has her worried.
For anything outside our historic
knowledge I dont think were ready,
for the Truckee River, Shane Ritter

started an online petition several months
ago urging the water authority and cities
of Reno and Sparks to step up conservation measures and consider such steps as
importing water. The petition has garnered more than 550 supporters, many
from the Reno area.
We do need to be more aggressive,
Ritter said. I feel like were a little flatfooted. In the region we live in, its not going to get any easier into the future.
While Foree said he understands the
concerns expressed by Lynn and others,
he insists there are adequate water resources to serve the Truckee Meadows
now and into the future, with the areas
population expected to increase from
roughly 440,000 today to about 560,000
people in 2030, according to projections.
The water authority has plans in place
to weather a drought nine years in duration, assuming backup supplies are periodically bolstered over that period. The
model is based on that last major drought
that lasted from 1987 to 1994, with an extra year thrown in. That period did include one average precipitation year and
one very wet one mixed in with the dry.
I feel like we ought to be doing 15 percent this

summer. Im surprised we didnt do it last year.
SUSAN LYNN
Reno conservationist
Lynn said. I think we need to rethink our

definition of drought in this community.
With the region now in its fourth
straight year of extremely dry conditions, the adequacy of the water authoritys drought plan could be called to question, said Steve Bradhurst, a former
Washoe County commissioner and former head of the Washoe County Department of Water Resources.
Were he an appointee to the authoritys board, Bradhurst said, he would
want to take another look at the drought
plan and how it might stand up to an even
longer drought than currently envisioned. He also said it may be near the
time to force people to conserve water
through a mandatory program rather
than just ask them to do so.
There are a lot of questions I would
want to have answered, Bradhurst said.
What does it mean if we have another
dry year? Or more? We need to completely understand where we are today
and where we are going.
With the community poised for significant growth, significant attention
should be directed toward limited water
resources and how they can accommodate growth particularly in view of uncertainties posed by a warming climate,
argues Bob Fulkerson of the Progressive
Leadership Alliance of Nevada.
He describes the existing drought
plan as the pray-for-rain approach to
water supply.
Hoping we will roll lucky sevens
next winter is not good planning, Fulkerson said. Our demands for water are
going to soon exceed natures ability to
provide for those demands. Were too
close for comfort.
An avid fly fisherman with a passion
The nine-year drought plan is designed to ensure the region weathers a

situation exactly like the one it now
faces, Foree said. He acknowledges the
stretch of four straight years of belownormal precipitation does represent a
departure from past droughts when wet
years helped offset impacts of the dry
ones.
Thats what is different, weve had
four consecutive years and we havent
seen that before, Foree said.
Do we cut more than 10 percent?

Lynn sees a clear need for increased
water conservation and suggests the 10percent reduction asked for now is insufficient.
I feel like we ought to be doing 15 percent this summer. Im surprised we
didnt do it last year, Lynn said. If next
winter is another severely dry one, she
could envision mandatory cuts in water
use of 25 to 30 percent similar to those
now being required in California as
the situation here worsens.
But Foree said 10 percent was the cutback that TMWA officials expected customers could reasonably achieve this
year through a voluntary request.
The request is on par with the one
made last year, the first time the utility
has ever asked customers to cut water
use.
Residential customers actually exceeded the requested amount, reducing
water use by about 11 percent.
The reduction is designed to respond
to the drought in conjunction with the
move to again tap drought reserves.
Last year, about 4,900 acre feet of reserves were used. This summer, the util-
ity expects to use about 7,000 acre feet.

About 26,000 acre feet of backup water
designated for drought use is available.
Should we charge more money?

Lynn favors adoption of a program
that penalizes big water users by charging them substantially more for water
consumed, programs to reduce sod at
homes and golf courses, expanded use of
recycled water and cutting the days watering is allowed from three days per
week to two.
Reducing the number of days watering is allowed, Foree said, would not save
water. Studies indicate people limited to
two watering days as opposed to three
can actually use more during those two
days, he said.
Weve proven three days a week watering does not use more than two days,
Foree said. Even I was a little skeptical
but that has been the case.
Programs to subsidize removal of turf
similar to whats been done in Las Vegas
are expensive and might not be fair to
residents who have already taken costly
steps to make their land drought-tolerant, Foree said, but he added such programs might be considered someday.
The utility is continually monitoring
the latest science to determine whether
changes in water resource management
are justified due to climate change,
Foree said.
It recently approved a $30,000 contract with Franco Biondi, a scientist at
University of Nevada, Reno, to examine
recent climate research and how it
might apply specifically to this region.
Biondis findings, which will also revisit
the issue of drought frequency in the
West, are expected late this summer.
One big change that could be coming
should the drought continue is a change
in billing structure that charges big water users much more than currently,
Foree said.
Making water more expensive could
in the end prove to be the best way to
achieve savings in excess of the 10 percent now being sought, he said.
If this drought continues, perhaps
those things would be considered,
Foree said. If we have another season
like this, we might have to look at something like that early next year.
But a single big winter can go a long
way when it comes to filling Tahoe and
other reservoirs, Foree and colleagues
said. And historically, droughts have
been offset by wet years.
Toward the end of the drought period
commonly known as the Dust Bowl, Lake
Tahoe had lowered to about a foot above
its natural rim.
When full, the Tahoe City Dam stores
an additional 6.1feet above the lakes rim
for downstream use. A big precipitation
year in 1938 pushed Tahoes levels up 5
feet some 195 billion gallons and
filled the lake, Foree said.
In 1994 and at the end of the last major
drought, Tahoe sat at 2 feet below its rim.
By 1996 after some big winters, the lake
was full. Similar turnarounds occurred
in 2006 and 2011.
My alarm bell is not going off, said
John Erwin, the utilitys director of natural resources. Based on what we know,
we do anticipate a recovery.
WHAT DROUGHT IS AFFECTING

As the four-year drought refuses to release its deadly hold on the West, its effects are mounting. They include dropping lakes, reservoirs and rivers, stressed wildlife,
wilting agricultural fields, challenges to an important recreation industry and risk of catastrophic wildfires. Here is what the drought is hitting hard:
LOW WATER
TRICKLING RIVER
WITHERING FIELDS
WILDFIRES
WILDLIFE
RECREATION
After the big winter of 2011

left the regions lakes and
reservoirs brimming, four
years of drought have steadily depleted water levels. Lake
Tahoe dipped below its natural rim in October, cutting off
flow into the Truckee River.
Tahoe is not expected to spill
into the river at all this year.
The Truckee River dropped

well below legally mandated
flows last summer and is
there again now. With the
rivers diminished flows unable to provide sufficient
water to meet summer demand, the Truckee Meadows
Water Authority was forced
to tap reserve supplies stored
in upstream reservoirs for the
first time in 20 years in 2014.
It will do so again this summer.
One of the droughts biggest

hits is being felt by Nevadas
agricultural industry. Many
ranchers have been forced to
sell off cattle. Alfalfa crops
that normally get several
cuttings per year now get
one. Irrigation water is scarce
and in some places, like Lovelock, nonexistent.
Drought-parched forests are

ready to burn. Thus far, the
Reno-Tahoe area has escaped
major, damaging fires during
the drought, but the potential was demonstrated last
summer by the massive King
Fire west of Lake Tahoe and
by the Rim Fire at Yosemite
the year before. This summer,
experts are concerned major
fires could start simultaneously across the droughtstricken West and strain
available firefighting resources.
Lack of water and natural

food is affecting animals
including squirrels, fish and
wild horses. Many horses are
wandering into human
neighborhoods looking for
food and water. The situation
is expected to create a busy
summer for bear problems as
black bears raid garbage and
break into homes in search of
a meal.
The Reno-Tahoe areas vital

recreation industry is hard hit
by drought. Boat launches are
high and dry. Marinas at Lake
Tahoe must dredge to stay in
operation. It was a rough
winter for ski resorts, many of
which were forced to close
early due to barren ski slopes.
6A
JASON BEAN/RGJ
Longtime Reno resident Dick Lowden walks along his lush property on Meadowview Lane in May. Lowden is looking at ways to save water while preserving his 35-year-old trees.
FLAT RATES TO END

AFTER DEBATE, DELAYS
By Jeff DeLong
jdelong@rgj.com
When Dick and Toni Lowden built

their home in southwest Reno back in
1966, the roads were dirt and their boys
rode ponies.
They raised their family on that acreplus property, enjoying a bucolic landscape and a yard plush with grass,
shrubs, flowerbeds and trees. Water was
cheap and, more importantly, plentiful.
Its been a joy, Dick Lowden said.
Weve loved it here.
Fast forward nearly 50 years. The
streets are paved. The Lowdens home
on Meadowview Lane is no longer on the
edge of town far from it. The kids have
grown and Lowden, who turns 90 in July,
walks across that big lawn these days
with difficulty.
And with water a scarce commodity
during a time of extended drought, other
changes are in the offing. The Lowdens
are among the fewer than 5,000 singlefamily homeowners still billed for water
at a flat rate, paying the same regardless
of the amount of water consumed. Thats
about to change.
A big reason for the change is that
flat-rate customers typically use twice
as much water as those on meters
281,000 gallons on average compared to
121,000 gallons in 2014, according to an
RGJ analysis of Truckee Meadows Water Authority data.
And while flat-rate customers made
up 7 percent of all residential customers
in 2014, including apartments, they consumed about 20 percent of the water
used by those customers, the RGJ analysis found.
Come October, the Truckee Meadows
Water Authority will require all customers to be billed through meters, charged
based on the amount of water consumed.
The conversion to metered billing for all
a desired goal for decades is seen as
necessary to save water, particularly as
the region suffers through a drought
now four years long.
Critics insist the change is long overdue and, at the very least, should have occurred before this fourth summer of
drought began.
Im mad as heck about it, said Peg
Murphy, a Skyline Drive resident who is
outraged that flat-rate water billing isnt
ending until after a summer during
which residents are being asked to cut
back at least 10 percent.
Others are gauging how the switch
will impact them, including Lowden,
who figures his summertime water bill
could increase fourfold or more, maybe
to $800 per month at times. Lowden used
998,000 gallons of water in 2014, down
from 1.1 million the year before, according to the records obtained by the RGJ.
Lowden acknowledges everyone
must start cutting back.
I dont blame them. I can certainly

understand it, he said.
Putting off the decision

Directors of the water authority
jointly operated by the cities of Reno and
Sparks and Washoe County decided
last December to proceed with the longdiscussed goal of converting everyone to
metered billing.
At the time, they directed staff to
make that change by June 1, the start of
irrigation season at the beginning of a
fourth summer of drought. That timeline
was favored over one that wouldnt complete the conversion until Jan. 1, 2016.
We need to do it today and get going
with it, Sparks Mayor Geno Martini,
chairman of the board, said at the time.
To me, its time. Its way past time.
In March, the board changed direction in a unanimous vote, opting not to
make the switch to metered billing effective until October. The idea was to give
those last flat-rate customers a little
was proposed in 2007 but generated substantial controversy with some customers many of them elderly strongly
opposing the idea. By split vote, the
board decided to require metered connection by January 2010. The date was
again put off until later that year but the
matter never finalized.
The issue didnt arise again until late
last summer. Former Sparks councilman
and utility board chairman Mike Carrigan brought it up as the region struggled
through a serious drought that has
shown no sign of letting up.
I just think its the right time. If the
drought persists, this is the right action
to take, Carrigan told the Reno GazetteJournal last September.
The decision to put off the required
conversion from June until October of
this year was made with relatively little
discussion by the utility board. Mayor
Martini said he was willing to delay the
changeover when it became apparent
the votes werent there for the more aggressive timeline.
BY THE NUMBERS
31,800
6,020
4,600
Flat-rate
customers in 2003.
Total flat-rate
customers today.
Single-family
homes on flat rate.
more time to adapt to a change that could

be costly.
Eventual conversion to a metered service was a key requirement of the 1990
Truckee River Negotiated Settlement, a
legal pact dictating management of the
river and its water supplies over the long
term. It is also central to the Truckee
River Operating Agreement still in litigation that is designed to do the same
thing for decades to come.
The number of the water authoritys
customers billed by meters has increased steadily over time. In 2003, two
years after the utility took over from the
previous private water purveyor, Sierra
Pacific Power Co., the number of both
residential classes was close to even:
about 31,800 flat-rate and 34,185 metered
customers. Now, about 4,600 single-family homes are on a flat rate.
The utility pushed the switchover by
incrementally driving up the monthly
flat rate from about $49 per typical residence in 2003 to more than $100 today.
Average bills for metered customers
rose from $31.53 to $42.76 over the same
period. New homeowners were required
to be billed by meters.
That steady change was one reason
utility officials never felt hard-pressed
to force the issue for the last holdouts.
The idea to finally flip the switch for all
Another few months to me doesnt

make that much of a difference, Martini said. Its something weve been talking about for a long time. Lets just get it
done right and done for the last time.
The delay came at the request of newly seated Reno Councilwoman Naomi
Duerr, who serves on the utility board.
Duerr said many of those flat-rate holdouts live in her southwest Reno ward and
many remained opposed.
People will have time to make the
necessary changes, Duerr said. Ive
heard from many of these people. They
know its coming and there are no more
delays.
Its ridiculous
But critics say delaying the conversion to meters for the remaining flat-rate
customers wont help the community
save every last drop of water as the region struggles through another year of
drought.
The decision by the TMWA board to
again delay the conversion didnt sit well
with Murphy, a 45-year resident of Skyline Boulevard who has been billed by
meter for years.
Murphy said she cant understand
how the utility board could decide at the
same time to delay the flat-rate conver-
sion and ask its customers to reduce water consumption during a summer of
drought.
Thats absolutely goofy, Murphy
said. To ask us who are responsible to
cut back 10 percent is ludicrous. Why delay (the flat-rate conversion) through the
summer? That makes no sense. Its more
than frustrating, its ridiculous.
It is probably a mixed message, said
Janet Phillips, who worked as director of
water policy for Sierra Pacific Power Co.
from 1989 to 2001, when the three local
governments entered the water business. For people who are not on a water
meter, the message is it doesnt matter
how much water you use.
For too long, Phillips said, utility officials have delayed closing the books on
flat-rate customers.
In this severe drought, it does seem
pretty irrational not to have people paying for their water use, Phillips said.
Its time to wrap up this transition process.
If some say the change is long overdue, others fear its arrival.
One of these is Ann La Veen, 81. She
lives in northwest Reno in her family
home that was built in 1947. Grass surrounds the house on a half-acre lot with
cherry, apple, plum, elm, birch and pine
trees.
By La Veens estimates, her $107
monthly flat-rate water bill would rise to
as much as $350 during the summer. La
Veen consumed 727,000 gallons of water
in 2014, according to water use records
obtained by the RGJ.
La Veen says she cant afford such an
increase and that she will likely be
forced to let trees and other landscaping
die.
Things will just not be watered, La
Veen said. Its just hard to let things languish and eventually die because of lack
of water.
At the Lowden residence, thoughts
turn to the future.
Dick Lowden, 89, has some ideas
about how to save water. He has xeriscaped a stretch of his yard. He would like
to keep existing landscaping elsewhere
if possible but also avoid that fourfold
hike in summer water bills.
The yard is currently watered by 168
sprinkler heads. Lowden thinks that by
installing a rainbird with a radius of 30
feet, he can cap many of those heads and
save significant amounts of water.
The trees are 35 years old. You hate
to lose your trees, Lowden said.
With the drought continuing and the
Reno area poised for a significant surge
of growth, Lowden said he understands
why things need to change.
Now we are growing again and it will
be a big challenge, Lowden said. I
agree that heavy use of water in the desert isnt the smartest thing in the world.
We do have to make plans for the future.
A TRUCKEE MEADOWS WATER AUTHORITY TIMELINE

OCTOBER
2001:
Water
meter
retrofit
program
approved.
NOVEMBER 2001:
TMWA determines
acceleration of conversion
of flat-rate customers
to metered service in
communitys best interest.
First-time single-family
residential customers are
all billed at metered rates.
MARCH
2003:
TMWA
reaffirms
meter
retrofit
goal.
OCTOBER
2003:
TMWA board
directs staff
to explore
acceleration
of meter
retrofit.
DECEMBER 2007:
Board considers
requiring full
conversion amid
opposition. By split
vote, board members
decide to require
meter conversion by
January 2010.
APRIL 2009:
Board decides
conversion should
be required no
sooner than June
2010. Action not
finalized.
OCTOBER
2014:
Board
decides to
revisit meter
conversion
issue.
DECEMBER
2014:
Board directs
staff to pursue
timeline for full
conversion by
June 1, 2015.
MARCH
2015:!
Full
conversion
delayed until
October 2015.
OUR WATER
SYSTEM:
FROM
TAHOE TO
YOUR TAP
JASON BEAN/RGJ
A man and his dog walk on the extended shore of the lake at South Lake Tahoe on June 10. The lake has dipped below its natural rim, cutting off the flow into the Truckee River.
INDEPENDENCE LAKE
THE TRUCKEE RIVER
No Independence Lake water was

tapped during the summer of 2014
but it will be used this summer.
Independence is now at 95 percent of
reservoir storage capacity. When full,
the top 28 feet of the lake is stored
for use as drought reserves by TMWA.
Typically, 85 percent of drinking water

serving Reno-Sparks is drawn from
the Truckee River. The river flows 116
miles from Lake Tahoe into Nevada,
terminating in the Great Basin desert
at Pyramid Lake. Major tributaries
include the Little Truckee River, Squaw
Creek, Martis Creek, Bear Creek, Gray
Creek, Bronco Creek and Steamboat
Creek.
Capacity: 95 percent
Depth: 145 feet
Storage: 5.7 billion
Built: 1879, enlarged in 1939
STAMPEDE RESERVOIR
While Stampedes water was originally envisioned for irrigation
and municipal use, a federal court ruling in 1976 dedicated the
water primarily for the benefit of the endangered cui-ui fish in
the lower Truckee River and to ensure adequate fishery flows
to Pyramid Lake are maintained.
Storage: 4.6 billion*
Built: 1937, BLM
Capacity: 14 percent*
Depth: 150 feet
395
445
RGJ RESEARCH
GANNETT GRAPHIC
BY TAK UDA
RENO
RE
NO
SPARKS
SPAR
SP
ARKS
KS
I-80
669
89
PROSSER CREEK
RESERVOIR
I-80
The reservoir is operated for floodcontrol purposes and for storage of

water exchanged with Lake Tahoe to
ensure legally required releases from
Tahoe.
Depth: 81 feet
Built: 1962, BLM
BOCA RESERVOIR
267
The Truckee Meadows Water Authority

can store up to 4.6 billion gallons of
water at Boca and Stampede reservoirs
for use in Reno-Sparks during times of
drought. The reservoirs are connected.
That water was used during the
summer of 2014 and will be used
again this summer. Boca is operated
by the Washoe County Conservation
District under contract with the federal
government.
89
RELATIVE SIZE
OF STORAGE
RESERVES
Capacity: 14 percent*
Depth: 84 feet
Storage: 4.6 billion*
Built: 1937, BLM
Billions of gallons of water and

current percent of capacity
DONNER
3.1 billion (73%)
BOCA/STAMPEDE
4.6 billion (14 %)
INDEPENDENCE
5.7 billion (95%)
PROSSER
9.7 billion (25%)
TAHOE
242.2 billion (0%)
DONNER LAKE
Donners drought reserves were
tapped for the first time in 20 years
during the summer of 2014 and will
be used again this summer. TMWA
has access to about half of that water.
When full, the top 12 feet is stored for
downstream use, including irrigation
in the Fallon area and as drought
reserves for Reno-Sparks.
Depth: 328 feet
Built: The original dam to boost
storage at this natural lake was built in
1877 and rebuilt in 1923
50
395
*Boca and
Stampede
reservoirs
combined
LAKE TAHOE
Lake Tahoe, the second deepest lake in the United States, is the
cornerstone of the Reno-Sparks water supply and has some of
the clearest water anywhere. When full, the lakes top 6.1 feet is
stored for downstream use. Tahoe dropped below its natural rim
in October, meaning its water-supply storage has dried up.
Capacity: 0 percent
Depth: 1,645 feet
Built: Original dam to boost Tahoes storage was built in 1870
and reconstructed in 1913.
7A
8A
SIERRA DROUGHT
JASON BEAN/RGJ
Independence Creek flows out of Independence Lake to Stampede Reservoir, part of the water storage system for the Truckee Meadows.
WHAT IS TMWA?
Water authority formed in 2001 to provide local control of natural resource

By Jeff DeLong
jdelong@rgj.com
The Truckee Meadows Water Authority, jointly operated by the cities of Reno
and Sparks and Washoe County, is responsible for distributing water to nearly 120,000 homes and business across the
Reno-Sparks area.
TMWA was established in 2001 after
the regions former private water provider, Sierra Pacific Power Co., decided
to get out of the water business.
Transfer of the water system to local
governments was approved by Nevadas
Public Utilities Commission in April
2001 before completion of its $350 million sale.
Sparks Mayor Geno Martini remembers widespread concerns before the
deal was complete.
It was huge. We didnt know who was
going to own the water company, Martini said. There was a lot of worry.
To Martini, who has served on the utilitys board since 2005, the idea of local
RGJ FILE
Geno
Martini
RGJ FILE
Neoma
Jardon
RGJ FILE
Jenny
Brekhus
RGJ FILE
Naomi
Duerr
government managing the regions water supply simply makes sense.

It was just the best thing to do. I just
think its best to have the water resource
in the hands of the people, Martini said,
adding that he and other utility directors
take the responsibility seriously.
The people on the board have a little
skin in this game, Martini said.
These are the elected officials now
calling the shots as the utility works to
provide water at a time supplies are diminished by drought:
Sparks Mayor Geno Martini, board
chairman. First elected in 1999 and appointed to TMWA in 2005. How to contact: 775-353-2311 or gmartini@cityof-
RGJ FILE
Ron Smith
RGJ FILE
Vaughn
Hartung
RGJ FILE
Jeanne
Herman
sparks.us.
Reno Councilwoman Neoma Jardon, vice chairwoman. First elected and
appointed to TMWA in 2012. How to contact: 775-334-2002 or jardonn@reno.gov.
Reno Councilwoman Jenny Brekhus. First elected and appointed to
TMWA in 2014. How to contact: 775-3342011 or brekhusj@reno.gov.
Reno Councilwoman Naomi Duerr.
First elected and appointed to TMWA in
2014. How to contact: 775-334-2017.
Sparks Councilman Ron Smith.
First elected in 2006 and appointed to
TMWA in 2014. How to contact: 775-3532311 or rsmith@cityofsparks.us.
Washoe County Commissioner
Vaughn Hartung. First elected in 2012

and appointed to TMWA in 2013. How to
contact:
775-328-2005
or
vhartung@washoecounty.us.
Washoe County Commissioner
Jeanne Herman. First elected in 2014
and appointed to TMWA in 2015. How to
contact: 775-328-2005 or jherman@washoecounty.us.
Key staff members include:
Mark Foree, appointed as general
manager in 2009. Before that, Foree was
director of water operations. Foree has
30 years of experience in the water industry, including planning, engineering,
operations and maintenance.
John Erwin, director of natural resources. Erwin, with more than 26 years
of water resource experience, was previously employed by Sierra Pacific, the
private company that provided water before the authority was established. Erwin evaluates water supply and resource
options and forecasts and economic and
financial impacts of water-related issues.
TMWA BOARD MEMBERS, AMONG

TOP USERS, CUTTING BACK
By Jeff DeLong
jdelong@rgj.com
Naomi Duerr is on the list of top water

users for 2014, but the Reno city councilwoman describes her efforts to save water as a success.
Duerr, who serves on the board of the
Truckee Meadows Water Authority, used
about 616,000 gallons of water at her
Greenfield Drive home last year, according to records obtained by the Reno Gazette-Journal from the authority.
That was enough to place Duerr in the
top half of the top 1,000 metered water
customers. But she said her high water
use in 2014 was an anomaly largely the
result of undetected irrigation leaks
that stands out among a string of years of
steadily decreasing use.
Things can happen. Youre making
really good progress and then you have a
setback, Duerr said. Every so often
you have an outlier year.
Neoma Jardon, another Reno councilwoman who serves on the water authority board, made the top water user list
with a 2014 consumption of 646,000 gallons. But that was far below the 885,000
gallons used in 2013.
After learning last year that she was
among the top water users, Jardon got a
water audit that revealed a leaky toilet
was wasting massive amounts of water.
SANDOVAL TAKES MEASURES TO REDUCE WATER USE

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, whose southwest Reno home regularly ranked among
top water users, continues to make efforts to reduce water consumption, according to
an aide.
The governor has taken multiple proactive measures to address the water use at his
personal residence, said Sandovals spokeswoman, Mari St. Martin.
Those steps include switching over to metered water service last March and the installation of low-flow toilets, St. Martin said. Sandoval also had a water audit of the
Latigo Drive home conducted by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority and is currently
receiving bids from local companies to xeriscape his yard, she said.
In April, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported Sandovals Reno home was among the top
1,000 water users served by the water authority between 2011 and 2014. The highest
water use for the nearly 1-acre grassy lot that includes a swimming pool was in 2012 at
just over 1 million gallons. The least was in 2014 at 876,000 gallons.
High water use was largely the result of overwatering due to an irrigation clock that
had been improperly timed, a landscape contractor who is taking care of the property
while Sandoval resides at the governors mansion in Carson City said.
In April, Sandoval said conserving water is a personal priority as Nevada suffers
through extended drought.
I think its the right thing to do. I want to try to set an example, Sandoval said.
Jardon urged other residents to also take

advantage of TMWAs free water audit
program, which she said can easily reveal problems of which they otherwise
wouldnt be aware.
Duerr and her husband purchased the
2-acre southwest Reno lot, studded with
fruit trees, in 2009. The previous owner,

Duerr said, was a flat-rate water customer who used nearly 1.1 million gallons
that year.
The Duerrs immediately switched to
metered service and moved to cut water
use, she said. They installed drip irriga-
tion for their orchard and removed substantial amounts of grass. The result,
Duerr said, was a 43 percent drop in water use by 2010, to 569,000 gallons.
Further changes cut another 40 percent over the next three years, with
349,000 gallons used in 2013, she said.
The Duerrs managed to save despite
adding to the flowerbeds, grape vines
and fruit trees on their property, she
said.
Use increased to 616,000 gallons in
2014, a change Duerr largely attributes
to underground irrigation leaks she
thinks were caused by a hard winter
freeze. Flow from an irrigation ditch that
feeds a pond Duerr uses for irrigation
was also cut off in August due to drought
conditions, leading to more use of utility
water.
Water use so far this year appears
down again, Duerr said. Consumption in
May was about 3,000 gallons, the least
for that month ever, water authority officials confirmed.
We are back on track now, she said.
Duerr describes her property as a
prime example of how some relatively
simple changes can dramatically cut
consumption.
Im extremely proud of what weve
done here, Duerr said. Its a learning
experience. Weve gotten back to great
results again, and Im still not satisfied.
Confessions of an accidental water waster

It wasnt until I saw the frog that I
realized I had a problem.
And it would be a few more weeks
after that when I realized
was informed, actually
that Ive been one of
the top 1,000 flat-rate
residential water users
of 2014. Not a good designation for a single guy
GUY
with a modest-sized yard
CLIFTON
and two dogs who dont
like baths.
But back to the frog.
He was about the size of a deck of
cards and he was sitting atop one of
the valves used to turn the water to my
sprinkler system on and off. It was
early April and, just like in most
years, I had opened the box where my
sprinkler controls are located with the
intent of turning them on for the season.
And there he was. Unlike Michigan
J. Frog of Merry Melodies cartoon
fame, he did not have a top hat and
cane, nor did he sing Hello Ma Baby!
while kicking his legs. And the dollar
signs going through my mind were not
of riches (like the guy who finds the
singing frog), but of the bill I was facing because of the pool of water beneath him.
My first thought was that I had
messed up back at the end of October
when Id shut the sprinklers down for
the season. The valve located deep in
the ground operates on a quarter turn
and I figured I had either turned it too
far or not far enough and water had
been bubbling up throughout the winter to fill the box.
I knew the problem was beyond my
mechanical skill set to fix. Luckily, I
had a bonded and licensed landscaper
friend experienced in such mishaps
and he set aside a day to get to the root
of the problem.
As it turns out, there was a literal
root of a problem and it had nothing to
do with the sprinklers. (Give me a Tim
the Tool Man Taylor badge.) I had
turned the sprinklers off correctly.
The leak, however, was all too real and
was coming from a different line a few
feet away.
Somewhere in the past months
and it could have been going on for
years, the landscaper said my almost 40-year-old house and its associ-
ated water lines had sprung a slowbut-steady leak at the valve that goes
into the house, likely due to a root
encroaching on the space it occupied.
I never noticed it in the house because the water pressure was fine.
And I never noticed it on my bill because Ive paid a flat rate since I
bought the place in 1997. I think my
water bill flat rate started around $77
back in the day and has gone up over
the years to about $107.
It was only when the RGJ asked for
the list of the top water users and my
name was sitting there at No. 702 that
the reality of one leaky pipe came
home to roost or ribbit, to be more
accurate.
According to Truckee Meadows
Water Authority records, my house
used 463,000 gallons of water in 2014,
an average of 38,583 gallons per
month.
Obviously, thats bad.
For this column, I asked TMWA
officials if they could review my water
use to see when the problem might
have started. It looks like the use
started going up in the spring of 2012
and has been getting steadily worse
since. It wasnt until this spring, however, when it started showing itself
where I could see it.
The leaky pipe has been fixed. My
water use in May, which was part
leaky pipe and part fixed pipe, was
32,000 gallons an improvement of
16,000 gallons compared to the same
month a year earlier.
Im hoping the use in June will show
a similar decrease.
I feel terrible it went on so long, so I
asked Andy Gebhardt, TMWAs manager of customer services, what as a
flat-rate customer I might have done
differently.
First and foremost, he said, is to
read the bill because it shows the
amount of water being used. The winter months are the most telling as to
whether there might be a problem.
If youre in double digits in winter,
you probably have a leak, he said.
After this month, I will know for
certain. The use of a meter has been
available for some months now. Ill be
making the switch.
As for the frog, I hope he moved on
to the irrigation ditch up the road. Im
not sorry we lost touch.
9A
JOIN THE CLUB AND SAVE

As a community, we are
entering the fourth year of
drought.
The Truckee Meadows Water Authority has asked its
users to cut their water use by
at least 10 percent this summer. For many of us in Northern Nevada, conservation is
top of mind. I know that much
of our office chatter has been
about low-water gardening and
yard improvements.
Thats why were asking you
to join our new RGJ Water
Savers Club, which aims to
help members save 5 million
gallons of water during the
summer.
The typical water customer
in Reno-Sparks uses about
121,000 gallons a year. More
than half of that goes into irrigating our yards. To achieve
the goal of cutting 10 percent
this summer, we each need to

save about 4,000 gallons of
water.
Weve put together the RGJ
Water Savers Club to help you
do just that. By joining the
club, you can track your water
usage through a simple online
form. Grab your June bill and
sign up now for free at
RGJ.com/sierradrought. If you
track your water use for four
months, youre eligible to win
one of three gift cards from
Moana Nursery in a drawing.
Well also provide ways to
share conservation tips and
help everyone in our community save more:
The RGJ Water Savers
Club on Facebook. Join the
group and share your watersaving ideas and ask questions
of other group members.
(Search RGJ Water Savers
a t e r
w
sa
ver
u
s cl
SIGN UP ONLINE
Visit RGJ.com/sierradrought to join
Club on Facebook to find us)

Sierra Drought e-newsletter. If you subscribe to the RGJ
online or in print, you can opt
into our weekly email newsletter featuring drought-related
news and offers, including
answers to readers drought

and water questions, watersaving tips and in-depth coverage about how the drought is
affecting your life. From time
to time, well forward information about savings offers and
opportunities at local retail and
service partners. (Sign up at
RGJ.com/newsletters.)
A series of drought-related events. Were planning a
full lineup of conservation and
water-related events, including
a question-and-answer forum
with drought experts, a bus
tour of our water system,
workshops about low-water
landscaping and chances to
share your conversation tips.
We also are partnering with
the Girl Scouts of the Sierra
Nevada to help its more than
4,500 members learn about
water conservation. The Girl
Scouts and their families will

be able to take part in the club,
learn about our water system
and conservation, and earn an
RGJ Water Savers patch.
Were very excited about
our new partnership with the
RGJ and the Water Savers
Club. Its a fantastic opportunity for our Girl Scouts to venture into the outdoors to really
explore and protect our local
water resources, said Pam
Czyz, CEO of Girl Scouts of the
Sierra Nevada.
The drought affects all of us
in Northern Nevada and everyone needs to pitch in.
Join us as we help one another conserve. Lets see how
much we can save.
Kelly Ann Scott,
executive editor
Mark Robison,
engagement editor
10 WAYS TO CUT 10 PERCENT

During this fourth year of drought, the primary water provider for Reno-Sparks has asked residents and businesses to reduce water consumption by at least 10 percent. Here are 10 ways to do so.
1. PAY
ATTENTION
Check for water waste.
Pay attention to your
bill. If this month's bill is
higher than previous
ones, you may have a
leak that should be fixed.
the Truckee Meadows

Water Authority will give
your water system a
thorough lookover,
uncovering irrigation
leaks or other potentially
costly problems. To order
an audit, call the conservation hotline at
834-8005.
Get a water audit. This

free service offered by
5. REPORT
WATER WASTE
4. FOLLOW THE
RULES
3. REDUCE
WATERING
2. GET AN
AUDIT
with an automatic sprinkler system, set your

timer's seasonal water
budget to 90 percent. If
you have 10-minute
watering cycles, reduce
to 9 minutes.
Cut outdoor water use.

Watering a lawn can use
180 gallons. With landscaping accounting for 4
times more water use
during summer months
than other times of the
year, this can make more
difference than anything. To cut 10 percent
Water only when you

should on assigned
watering days. Even
addresses on Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays.
Odd addresses on
Wednesdays, Fridays and
Sundays. No watering
between 11 a.m. and 7
p.m. between Memorial
Day and Labor Day.
Don't water if it's raining.
Report water wasters.

TMWA has people on
this seven days per week.
Report online at
www.tmwa.com/waste
or call the conservation
hotline at 834-8005.
6. BE TOILET
CONSCIOUS
Don't flush your toilet
unless necessary. Each
flush uses from 4 to 7

gallons. And make sure
that toilet isn't leaking.
Leaking toilets can waste
60 gallons of water a day
without showing a sign.
Check pipes and faucets
for leaks as well.
7. SHORTEN
SHOWERS
Take shorter showers. A
shower can use from 9 to
12 gallons. Install watersaving showerheads or
flow restrictors. Turn
water off after wetting
your toothbrush. Brushing your teeth can use 2
to 5 gallons of water.
Rinse razors in a partially
filled sink.
wash. Washing a car can

use 50 gallons of water.
Don't let water run
down the driveway. Use
a broom or blower to
clean your driveway.
8. FILL YOUR
WASHERS
Run dishwashers and
clothes washers only
when they are full.
Washing dishes by machine can use 13 to 19
gallons of water. Washing clothes can use 35 to
50 gallons.
9. SKIP THE CAR

WASH?
Maybe skip that car
10. BE WATER
WISE
Think about what uses
water. To make a 4ounce hamburger, it
takes 616 gallons of
water. An 8-ounce steak
takes 1,232 gallons. A
pair of blue jeans takes
900 gallons. A cup of
coffee takes 37 gallons.
To manufacture a new
car, more than 39,000
gallons is used.
ZERO-scape is Not the Answer

Conservation begins with reducing wasted water and upgrading your
soils water retention. Not a yard full of rocks.
The livability and value of homes with excessive hardscape (pavers, concrete or asphalt),
rock mulch, decomposed granite and very few plants are more demanding on its tenants
and are substantially more taxing on our environment. Organic landscaping provides
an overall cooling effect, cleans the air, prevents runoff, appreciates in value, softens &
improves the curb appeal and much more.
So, start with improving your irrigation system by eliminating unproductive water
applications. Then add organic material to amend your soil, mulch your beds to retain
additional moisture, and select water-wise plants for your landscape.
Xeriscape, which is different from zero-scape, features drought tolerant plants, efficient
irrigation design and proper maintenance. It is not all about rock with no grass.
Eliminating wasted water and adding organic material to both traditional & xeriscape
yards are important conservation steps. You live in the high desert where there is a
legitimate need for the offsetting benefits of green plants, clean air and a healthy life-style.
Visit any of our three locations to learn more about xeriscaping and see our expansive
selection of water-wise/drought tolerant plant material and organic options.
Call us to schedule an irrigation system assessment: (775) 825-0602 ext. 134
Better Plants. Better Advice. Better Results.
moananursery.com
Lisa Braginton
Moana Lane Garden Center
South Virginia St. Garden Center
Pyramid Hwy. Garden Center
Arborist/Horticulturist/Plant Doctor
1100 W. Moana Lane, Reno
11301 S. Virginia St., Reno
7655 Pyramid Hwy., Sparks
Moana teammate since 2000
(775) 825-0600
(775) 853-1319
(775) 425-4300
NV Lic. #3379 A,D CA Lic. #317448
RJ-0000506103
10A
ASK THE RGJ: DROUGHT EDITION

SUPER BOWL
How
do Truckee fish survive drought?
Drought kills some,
but others hole up in
reservoirs, deep pools
By Mark Robison
mrobison@rgj.com
This weeks drought query

involves fish in the Truckee
River: whether the drought is
killing them, how they survive
when the water gets low and
how bad its going to get this
year.
Short answer: Yes, the
drought is killing some fish in
the river system, the others
survive by holing up in reservoirs and deep pools, and its too
soon to tell how low the river
will get in 2015.
Full question
Last week, we looked at what
happens to all the frogs that
come out in the rain when the
dry weather returns. As a follow-up, I was curious what
happens to fish in the Truckee
River when water is only trickling through the boulders.
To give an idea of how bad
conditions are, water normally
flows in the Truckee River at
1,050 cubic feet per second past
the Mogul monitoring station at
this time of year. This week,
only 6.5 cubic feet of water was
flowing per second.
PROVIDED BY NDOW
This is a brown trout caught in the Truckee River in 2013.
SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS

Through September, the RGJs Mark Robison investigates
reader questions about any aspect of the four-year drought
and how it affects life in Northern Nevada. Send yours to
mrobison@rgj.com.
Visit RGJ.com/sierradrought to view our in-depth drought
coverage.
Full response
Kim Tisdale gets this question about fish survival a lot,
and shes also got advice for
anglers practicing catch and
release. Tisdale is Western
Region Fisheries Supervisor for
the Nevada Department of
Wildlife.
When the river contracts
during drought conditions, she
said, we definitely lose a lot of
fish.
There are two main reasons.
When the water is shallower,
it is warmer.
Trout need cold water so
they are the ones who are going
to suffer first, Tisdale said.
Brown trout and rainbow
trout are the main fish in the
Truckee River.
Once water temps get into

the 70s, it gets hard for trout to
survive, she said. They seek
out deep pools when the water
gets warmer.
Physics lesson: One reason
this happens is warm water
doesnt hold oxygen as well as
cold water. So if its too warm,
the fish stress out and die.
The other main reason fish
die when the Truckee River has
less water is that smaller fish
become prey more often.
Theres a lot of great habitat
when the river is full but when
(theres less water), the fish are
fighting amongst themselves
for holding areas and feeding
areas, Tisdale said. A lot of
the smaller fishes that would be

in more protected areas get
pushed into bigger pools where
there is less cover for them, and
it makes them more vulnerable.
Smaller fish are pushed into
marginal habitat and will die
because of that.
Back in the 1990s, the Truckee River went dry below Glendale Avenue in Sparks where
water is diverted to the treatment plant.
We dont know what will
happen this year, Tisdale said.
Weve been talking to the water master and he doesnt know,
but the thinking is it will be like
last year. If conditions are like
last year, we could squeak
through again without losing

(fish populations) below Glendale.
This brings up questions
about where the fish are that
dont die and whether most are
just restocked from fisheries.
While NDOW does restock
fish, it estimates that 80 to 90
percent collected in its fall
surveys are wild.
We generally stock 40,000 to
60,000 catchable fish in the
Truckee River (each year),
Tisdale said. We stock those
into the river knowing that
within 30 days theyre going to
be caught out by anglers or
eaten by other fish or birds or
pushed into marginal habitat
and die. Most hatchery fish
dont survive long term. Wild
fish are smarter and more likely to survive.
In its tributaries and reservoirs, the Truckee River has a
year-round resident population
of fish that are born in the river,
live there, reproduce there and
die there.
Theres movement all the
time, she said. Theres fish all

through the system so when the
main Truckee River dries up
and in the next winter, it fills up
again, all the fish in the river
and tributaries that didnt dry
up spawn again and fish move
down with the water and find
available habitat. Those (fish
populations) will recover eventually, it just takes water.
So far, NDOW has decided
not to put additional restrictions
on catching fish with a license, you can currently catch
three and must consume them
before you can catch more. The
reasoning is that removing
some fish from the river will
reduce crowding in the few
areas that have enough water.
Were trying to get word out
to anglers that as conditions get
worse, people practicing catch
and release on the river need to
be fishing in the morning when
the water is cool, Tisdale said.
If they do it in the afternoon,
the water is warm and fish
stressed out from the fight are
likely going to die.
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INVESTIGATES
SAVING
WATER
IN A
GROWING
CITY
Aging infrastructure, acres of lawns make conservation a costly challenge
eaky pipes. Old buildings. Years of living with lush

landscaping.
The drought, now grinding through a fourth year,
is pushing our citys largest businesses and institutions to reconsider how they use water. Some are hamstrung
by an aging infrastructure. Others are finally hunting down
water waste on their properties.
The Reno Gazette-Journal spent the last month analyzing
the water use records for the top commercial users of the
Key findings include:
Truckee Meadows Water Authority as part of a four-part series into the historic drought affecting Northern Nevada.
The investigation includes details on how our local governments, schools and largest businesses use water including
how much. The series also examines how a strained water
supply could affect the future of growth and economic development in the region and the pressures our community
faces because of a lush landscaping culture that was imported from the eastern United States decades ago.
We dont definitively know how much growth

and new housing our water supply can handle.
The tug of war between economic development
and those who caution against unfettered growth
returns as our economy grows. Page 5A
Easing rules on turf for new projects. More

water goes to lawns in the Truckee Meadows than
for any other use, and many are now saying that
needs to change, including rules that require
homeowners and businesses keep them green.
Page 7A
Washoe County schools use more water per

square foot than most large school districts.
The Las Vegas school district uses about 29 gallons per square foot. Washoe County uses 56. Now,
district officials want to remove turf at the five
schools that use the most water. Page 10A
Are the cities, county doing enough? The city of

Reno runs a fountain along the Riverwalk that
uses twice as much potable water in a year than
the homeless shelter. City Council members are
saying the government response to the drought
needs to be much more aggressive. Page 8A
The 10 biggest hotel-casinos in Reno-Sparks are

the largest commercial water users. Combined,
the resorts used about 850 million gallons of water
in 2014, more than any other commercial sector.
The properties are pushing for better water conservation, though many face an aging infrastructure that can lead to water waste. Page 9A
The University of Nevada, Reno is installing
conservation measures around its campus.
From the Quad to the Main Station Lab, dorms to
events center, the university as a whole used more
than 140 million gallons of water in 2014. Page 10A
GALLONS USED BY COMMERCIAL SECTOR

Here are the Truckee Meadows Water Authoritys top water users in 2014. List continues on 4A.
RESORTS
INDUSTRY
MEDICAL
GOVERNMENT
SCHOOLS
RETAIL
RESIDENTIAL
MOTELS
860,533,000
432,557,000
298,361,000
290,153,000
261,484,000
239,396,000
184,400,000
162,269,000
SOURCE: RGJ RESEARCH

GANNETT GRAPHIC
SIERRA DROUGHT:
A |FOUR-PART
SERIES
PART 1: Residential water use: Read the first part of the Reno Gazette-Journals investigation at RGJ.com/sierradrought
PART 2: Commercial water use: Todays coverage examines water use by municipal and commercial entities in the Truckee Meadows
AUGUST: How agriculture uses water in Northern Nevada.
SEPTEMBER: Whats the future of our water system in an arid climate?

FACT CHECKER
Is Reno a sanctuary city for

undocumented immigrants?
Numerous readers have asked if Reno and Washoe
County offer sanctuary to people who are in the
United States illegally. The answer is not simple
because no legal or even standard definition
exists for sanctuary city. 13A
We can EASE
YOUR MIND.
MOUNTAIN WEST PREVIEW
Wolf Pack has holes to fill
BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIALS
Cody Fajardo (17) is gone, James Butler (20) returns

but it could be the defense that leads Nevada this
season. Chris Murray has the details. 1C
UNFORTUNATELY, KIDS, ITS THAT TIME: Todays

paper contains advertisements for back to school
selections at local retailers. Yes, education is important, but you can look good while learning. INSIDE
INSIDE TODAY
$3 Retail
Local ...........................1-18A
USA Today...................1-6B
Sports..........................1-12C
Lottery.............................3C
Jobs/Classifieds ..........6-7C
Business .......................1-6D
Voices............................1-4E
Our Nevada ...............1-10F
Obituaries .................6F, 8F
USA Life
Color Comics
TODAYS WEATHER
High 87
Low 57
Forecast, page 16A
CALL RGJ
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Learn more about Botox therapy
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RJ-0000507355
4A
COMMERCIAL WATER USE

IN TRUCKEE MEADOWS
or the second of a four-part series on water use in the region, the Reno Gazette-Journal analyzed data from the top 1,000 commercial customers of the Truckee Meadows
Water Authority. Several of those customers turned out to be the same entity with
separate accounts, so in the end we looked at the water use of 926 businesses, muni-
cipal governments and schools.
Here are some highlights of our findings:

gas. The Las Vegas school district uses about 29 gallons
per square foot. Washoe County uses 56 gallons per
square foot. Now, school district officials want to remove
turf at the five schools that use the most water.
Commercial customers are using more water since

2011, the last year that started with a healthy snowpack. Four years ago, commercial customers used 6.1
billion gallons of water. Last year, it was 6.7 billion gallons an 8.9 percent increase.
The top 926 commercial customers consumed 3.6
billion gallons of water in 2014. Those customers include some of the largest institutions in the city, from the
Washoe County School District to the top hotel-casinos to
the University of Nevada, Reno to local governments.
Out of 8,843 commercial customers, the top 926 used
more than half of all commercial water.
Major hotel-casinos are the largest commercial
water users in Reno-Sparks. Last year, the top 10 resorts
used about 850 million gallons of water.
The Washoe County School District has enough turf
to cover 209 football fields. Among the largest water
users in town is the school district and its 96 schools.
Within the school district, just five schools Galena,
McQueen, North Valleys, Spanish Springs and Wooster
high schools used a third of all water consumed by the
district.
The Washoe County School District uses much more
water per square foot than most large school districts,
including the Clark County School District in Las Ve-
We dont definitively know how much growth and

new housing our water supply can handle. The tug of
war between economic development and those who caution against unfettered growth is back as Northern Nevadas economy begins to grow again.
Washoe County commissioner wants to do away
with policies that require developers to install turf for
new projects. The biggest water user in the Truckee
Meadows are the lawns that dot it, and many are now
saying that needs to change, including the rules that
require homeowners and businesses keep them green.
The city of Reno is still running a fountain along the
river walk that uses twice as much potable water in a
year than the homeless shelter. Reno City Council
members are now saying the local government response
to the drought needs to be much more aggressive.
The University of Nevada, Reno is installing water
conservation measures around its campus. The university as a whole used more than 140 million gallons of
water in 2014.
GALLONS USED BY COMMERCIAL

SECTOR AMONG TOP TMWA
WATER USERS IN 2014
Continued from 1A
UNR: 145,335,000
Professional Offices: 135,072,000
Restaurants: 85,834,000
Hotels, non-gaming: 67,535,000
Car washes: 53,623,000
Supermarkets: 52,797,000
Entertainment/Event Venues: 52,607,000
Casinos: 46,073,000
Airport: 38,605,000
Churches: 37,953,000
Water Purveyor: 30,369,000
Dry Cleaners/Laundromats: 21,584,000
RV Parks: 21,161,000
Community College, adult education:
20,378,000
Reno Sparks Indian Colony: 18,333,000
Waste Management: 10,700,000
Gyms: 9,842,000
Gas Stations: 8,461,000
Water Park: 8,091,000
Day Cares: 7,328,000
Community Services 5,036,000
The Reno Gazette-Journal: 4,903,000
Storage units: 3,348,000
Unknown: 2,514,000
Strip Clubs: 1,944,000
Cemetery: 1,240,000
Fraternity: 1,001,000
Grand Total: 3,620,820,000 gallons
We are High on
High-Desert Trees!
The unexpectedly long benefit list of growing beautiful,
water-wise trees in your landscape & our community includes:
Clean our air
Help fight our climate change
Enhance our property values
Save our air-conditioning energy
Contribute to our good health
Support our wildlife
Provide our oxygen
Provide a good community
Cool our local temperatures
Absorb our excess CO2
return on investment
Even help reduce our crime!
Since 1967, we have selected and grown high-desert trees for

northern Nevada. We still do.
See our High Desert Water-Wise Plant list: www.moananursery.com/drought.html
Better Plants. Better Advice. Better Results.
moananursery.com
Carlos Lamas (Junior)
Moana Lane Garden Center
South Virginia St. Garden Center
Pyramid Hwy. Garden Center
Senior Installation Manager
1100 W. Moana Lane, Reno
11301 S. Virginia St., Reno
7655 Pyramid Hwy., Sparks
Teammate since 1997
(775) 825-0600
(775) 853-1319
(775) 425-4300
NV Lic. #3379 A,D CA Lic. #317448
RJ-0000506107
5A
GROWING PAINS:
WHERE WILL WATER
COME FROM?
ANDY BARRON/RGJ FILE
Tesla Motors gigafactory is considered the crown jewel of developments at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center. The company is installing a water recirculating system as part of its construction.
By Jason Hidalgo
jhidalgo@rgj.com
erry Di Loreto starts up his white

Jeep and drives to his latest project in Renos Damonte Ranch
area, a community of 147 new single-family homes called La Casata.
At first glance, the neighborhood
looks like your typical new housing development. Closer inspection, however,
reveals that the houses are missing one
hallmark of modern suburbia.
Gone are the emerald landscapes often seen in the front lawn of new homes.
In their place, the La Casata development features xeriscaped yards with native plants and colored stones.
(The yards) have very low water consumption and dont require a lot of maintenance, Di Loreto said. I also think its
attractive, dont you?
Some would call it smart design. Others would say its good business sense.
For developers such as Di Loreto, its all
of that and more. Its about the need to
adapt to the changing landscape, literally and figuratively, while trying to
pave what they consider sustainable
growth not just in business activity but
the community as a whole.
Consider it the response to a classic
case of Catch-22.
As Northern Nevada celebrates a series of major economic wins that included Tesla Motors gigafactory and
Switchs Supernap facility, the regions
otherwise bright economic development
picture is clouded by concerns involving
the most basic yet precious resource of
all: water.
Its no surprise. Images of a low
Truckee River downtown and lack of
snowpack on the mountains is sure to
fuel debate surrounding the tug of war
between growth and conservation during bone-dry conditions.
How do we get enough water for uncontrolled growth? said Bob Fulkerson,
state director of the Progressive Leader-
JASON BEAN/RGJ
Teresa Di Loreto, operations director for Di Loreto homes, poses at the La Casata development
in Reno where the yards are xeriscaped with low-water-use plants.
ship Alliance of Nevada. The developers answer is trust us (but) their motivation is short-term economic gain for
themselves.
For folks within economic development circles, saving water and encouraging growth does not have to be an either-or proposition.
Obviously, theres a push to conserve
water, and that makes a lot of sense, said
Mike Kazmierski, president and CEO of
the Economic Development Authority of
Western Nevada. But you also have people who want to stop development because of a fear involving available water
resources, and thats just not reality.
An economic engine
From the Tigris and the Euphrates to
the Hudson River, water sources have

given birth to cities and entire civilizations. Lack of water also has been linked
to the decline of entire cultures, with
drought considered a likely factor in the
collapse of Mayan civilization.
Waters role as an economic engine
still holds true today, said Brian Speicher, business development lead at the
Desert Research Institute.
If you look globally at either the developing or developed world, water issues could really severely limit the ability of entire communities to thrive,
Speicher said.
That applies not just to a communitys
residents but its businesses as well.
Whether it be a manufacturing plant
such as Teslas gigafactory or a facility
that processes cheese and other food
items, water is a key topic of conservation for any business that looks at Northern Nevada
Companies are just like everybody
else, Kazmierski said. When they
come here to visit, they ask, Is there water?
The answer is complicated, according
to John Erwin, director of natural resources planning and management for
the Truckee Meadows Water Authority
utility.
For starters, projecting the rate for
future precipitation is based on an inexact science, making it practically impossible to make an exact prediction. About
the only sure thing about the regions water equation is that it comes from three
primary sources. In the case of TMWAs
service territory which includes the
greater Reno-Sparks metro area the
biggest source is the Truckee River,
which supplies 90 percent of the water
used in the area during a normal year.
Ground water is second at 10 percent,
followed by upstream reservoirs such as
Independence, Stampede and Boca that
can be accessed during drier times.
Understanding the water situation
boils down to being aware of how we use
it, Erwin said. Typically, the slow period
runs from late October through March,
when the region uses about 30 million
gallons per day. As irrigation season
starts, usage picks up to about 60 million
to 80 million gallons per day from April
to June before peaking during the summer months.
This July, however, water usage is already shaping up to be quite different.
Usually, its 115 million to 130 million
gallons, Erwin said. But just this last
week, were averaging 76 million gallons
a day, which is unusual for July.
A large part of it is higher awareness
about the drought, including TMWAs
call for customers to cut water use by 10
percent, Erwin said. Combined with
See GROWTH, Page 6A
Water Savers Club on way to 5 million gallon goal

Our second installment of reporting
on Northern Nevadas drought focuses
on commercial water use in our region.
And, RGJ Medias water use is part
of that.
You might remember
from our first installment
that the RGJs water use
mirrored a regionwide
trend of using more now
than before the drought
KELLY
started in 2011.
SCOTT
In 2011, the RGJ used
4.1 million gallons of water, according to our analysis. In 2014,
we used 4.9 million gallons, ranking us
No. 118 among Truckee Meadows Water Authority commercial customers.
To help curb our water use, we instituted several irrigation and landscape changes. To figure out if its
helping, I talked through our bills with
Kim Mazeres, TMWAs director of
customer relations.
The good news is that we have cut
our water use almost 24 percent during
May and June this year compared to
2014. Those are the months when irrigation is typically part of the bill.
In May and June, we used just over
1 million gallons of water. Last year, it

was almost 1.3 million gallons for the
same time frame.
Overall, our water use is down almost 11 percent from last year. From
January to June, we used about 1.5
million gallons. Last year, we had used
about 1.7 million gallons in the same
time frame.
To find out more about our water
use and ways to cut back, we have
scheduled a TMWA water audit for the
first week of August. Well report on
what we find from that, too.
In the meantime, were continuing
with the RGJ Water Savers Club. The
goal of the club is to help you share tips
so that the group can save 5 million
gallons of water through the summer.
The club also has partnered with the
Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada to
help the more than 4,500 members in
our area learn more about water conservation. The Girl Scouts are able to
earn an RGJ Water Saver patch
through club participation.
So far, the more than 50 members
who are using the Water Savers Club
tools to track their usage are off to a
solid start. Theyve collectively saved
762,034 gallons of water.

Weve had two events for the club.
One was a water-wise landscaping
workshop at Moana Nursery that drew
about 70 attendees. And Saturday, we
led a sold-out bus tour of the regions
water from Lake Tahoe into Reno.
If you missed those events dont
fret. Theres more upcoming:
Aug. 12 Battle Born drought
discussion: Ask your questions of
drought and water experts at 6:30 p.m.
at Heritage Bar & Restaurant inside
Whitney Peak Hotel in downtown Reno. The informal event will feature
RGJ environmental reporter Jeff DeLong, TMWA director of natural resources management John Erwin and a
climatologist/hydrologist to be named
later. No need to RSVP but you can let
us know youre coming on RGJ Water
Savers Club Facebook page.
Aug. 20 tour of Peppermills
water-saving upgrades: Free behindthe-scenes tour of the Peppermills
high-tech water-saving upgrades at
5:30 p.m. The 60-minute tour will feature looks at the resort-spa-casinos
geothermal heating and cooling system
using water, wind monitors on foun-
tains, AstroTurf, graywater laundry,

and water-saving shower heads and
toilets in the rooms. Limit of 20 participants; free reservation tickets are
available now at tickets.rgj.com.
Sept. 15 kids event to learn
about Truckee River and water conservation: Free Truckee River ecosystem and Wonders of Water event from
6 to 8 p.m. at McKinley Arts & Culture
Center. Learn about the uniqueness of
the Truckee River as the only closedlake system in the United States. Kids
and parents will then learn creative
ways to save water with the Girl
Scouts Wonders of Water activities.
Recommended grade range: kindergarten through 5th. Limit of 120 people;
reservation tickets are available now
at tickets.rgj.com.
Its not too late to track your water
use and sign up for the free RGJ Water
Savers Club. Go to RGJ.com/sierradrought. And, RGJ subscribers can get
the RGJs weekly drought and watersavings newsletter by visiting
RGJ.com/newsletters.
Kelly Ann Scott is executive editor of RGJ
Media.
6A
Growth
planning that prepares for a nine-year

drought cycle, the region remains in
good shape to cover its water demands
despite four straight years of drought
conditions.
We plan for the worst and manage
for the worst so we dont overextend
ourselves, Erwin said. Even though
were going through a period like this, we
can still have a full Independence Lake
while, if you look at California, many of
their reservoirs are nearly empty.
People in economic development circles such as Kazmierski point to the regions water management as a key advantage for the region as well as proof
that the area is more than capable of handling the growth thats expected in terms
of water supply. This includes a projected 50,000 new jobs in the coming years,
which will likely translate to a need for
37,500 new housing units, according to
the Center for Regional Studies at the
University of Nevada, Reno.
Were in fantastic position as a community and the water resources we have
is one of our economic strengths, Kazmierski said. Were probably in better
shape than just about every other community in the southwest.
The confidence extends to the Tahoe
Reno Industrial Center in Storey County,
which is not under TMWAs purview but
has its own source of water. These rights
supply the needs of 160 companies on
site, which include Tesla, PetSmart and
Toys R Us.
The industrial park is permitted to
use up to 5,400 acre feet of water from
underground but is currently tapping
into just 400 acre feet of that resource,
said Lance Gilman, Tahoe Reno Industrial Center co-director. The park also has
not needed to use water from the Truckee River despite holding a significant
amount of water rights to it, according
to Gilman. Even with Teslas gigafactory
coming in, the park should be in good
shape with its water supply, he added.
We take samples on an ongoing basis
and our well levels havent dropped an
inch so were in great shape, Gilman
said. (The gigafactory) is not going to be
a tremendous impact on our water
source at all.
Despite being in better shape than
many other areas in the West, however,
economic development groups still need
to ease the concerns of companies looking to move into the area, Kazmierski
said. This is due in large part to the
drought narrative that has taken hold in
the region, which is causing uncertainty
among businesses.
All they hear is drought, drought,
drought so we always have to educate
them, Kazmierski said. We have experts explain whats really going on here,
how our system works and how weve
planned and prepared ... so we have the
resource to meet our needs.
RGJ FILE
Images of a depleted Truckee River raise questions among businesses looking to relocate.
Companies are just like everybody else, said Mike Kazmierski, CEO of the Economic
Development Authority of Western Nevada. When they come here to visit, they ask, Is there
water?
TOTAL TMWA WATER USE IN BILLIONS OF GALLONS

18.87
21.32
12.69
13.61
14.59
6.17
2011
2013
2014
2011
Retail
Population equation
In addition to business growth, population also plays an important role in figuring out the water equation.
To get a handle on the impact of population growth, the Nevada Legislature
created the Western Regional Water
Commission in 2007. Designed as a onestop forum for the various entities in the
state involved in water planning, the
commission was a response to the heady
growth seen during the real estate bubble years.
The commissions job was to look at
growth patterns in the next 20 years and
make sure we had our water services coordinated for the same time frame, said
program manager Jim Smitherman.
When it released its first forecast in
2010, the commission projected a population of 590,000 people in Washoe County
by 2030, Smitherman said. Last year,
those figures were updated to 560,000 by
2034 to account for the impact the recession had on stunting area growth.
With the U.S. Census Bureau estimating a population of 440,000 for Washoe
County last year, the new projections
represent a 27 percent increase in residents.
When figuring out estimates on just
how much growth the regions water system can absorb, population is one metric
that factors into overall demand. In the
case of TMWA, the utility has a commitment of delivering about 100,000 acre
feet of water to its service area. Equivalent to water that covers one acre at a
depth of one foot, an acre foot of water
20.21
2013
2014
2011
Residential
SOURCE: RGJ RESEARCH |
translates to nearly 326,000 gallons. In a

pinch, TMWA can ramp that up to at least
110,000 acre feet. Commitments, however, dont necessarily show the entire picture.
So the question is, how much water
can we supply while adding new customers to the system? Erwin said. In answering that question, you have to forget
about the commitment, youve got to
look at the demand.
Of the 100,000 acre feet mentioned,
TMWA is delivering just 75,000 acre feet
based on demand, so a huge part of its
commitment is actually not being exercised, according to Erwin. This means
that TMWA theoretically has a buffer of
35,000 acre feet at the current rate of delivery, enough to handle a nearly 50 percent increase in demand.
The key word, though, is theoretically. Annual snowpack and runoff levels
remain a huge wild card that can throw a
wrench in the best laid projections, Erwin said. Although 110 years of historical
data point to a potential recovery for the
coming year, even a century is just a
blink in the eye for Mother Nature. In
short, 110 years does not even come close
to capturing the entire drought history
of the region. The available historical data, for example, has never shown four
consecutive dry years until now.
6.60
6.72
2013
2014
Commercial
TAK UDA/GANNETT
What happens if 2016 is as dry as

2015, then it happens again and again and
again? Erwin said. We can speculate
but thats a question we cant really answer.
Fulkerson of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, meanwhile,
points to water planning documents that
indicate a finite water resource of up to
180,025 acre feet of water per year. Although that appears to indicate a significant amount of supply based on current
usage rates, matching up water and
growth isnt all about just numbers, according to Fulkerson.
Why would we want to double our
population so we can be more like Los
Angeles and build ourselves into a cesspool while destroying natural areas that
depend on the water were stealing to
fuel our growth? Fulkerson said.
(Thats) not the Reno I want to live in,
nor I suspect most folks.
The growth question

Di Loreto says you dont need to convince him about the seriousness of the
areas water issue. As a longtime fixture
in the local developer community, Di Loreto not only has plenty of experience
dealing with water rights but also pays
close attention to the state of the regions
water resources.
Look, no matter what, we have to recognize that we live in a high desert, Di
Loreto said. We need to respect the resource and only use as much of it as we
can responsibly.
Using that resource better is a big
reason why his company adopted a different approach with La Casata, according to Di Loreto. At the same time, every
community requires growth for it to remain healthy, he added.
Di Loreto pointed to the difficulties
following the recession as Exhibit A of
what happens when a community does
not grow. The consequences include
property values plummeting, sales tax
revenue dropping off the charts, and
cities being unable to generate money to
service their bonds.
Thats what no growth looks like, Di
Loreto said. When it comes to (community) growth, youre either moving forward or not moving at all, theres no
stuck in neutral.
The question now is how to maintain
sustained and responsible growth in the
face of the drought cycles that are part
of living in a high desert. In this regard,
the greater Reno-Sparks area has a builtin buffer from out-of-control development because it uses a different system
for water rights.
Unlike other areas where businesses
rely primarily on the water utility to get
water rights for them, new development
is responsible for acquiring its own water rights within the Reno-Sparks metro
and surrounding areas. This is usually
done by securing existing water rights
slated for agriculture use and paying to
acquire those for commercial, industrial
and municipal use. Its also what separates the region from places such as California and even Southern Nevada.
New growth must be paid for by new
customers, said TMWAs Erwin.
The area could also tap water further
upfield from resources such as Honey
Lake and Fish Springs Ranch for an approved yield of about 8,000 acre feet, according to Smitherman. These likely
could be expanded to 13,000 acre feet before monitoring would be required to ensure there are no adverse environmental
effects, he added.
A common misconception among the
public is that any water saved through
conservation efforts ends up going toward growth or new development. Just
because 10 households cut back water
use by 10 percent does not mean that
frees up water for 1 new house, Smitherman said. Di Loretos xeriscaped homes,
for example, should allow an acre foot of
water to serve three homes instead of
two. That doesnt mean he could just add
that extra house into his development.
Any water I save or that you save
cant go to serve new growth or sold to
anybody else to build a new house,
Smitherman said. By rule, it has to be
stored for drought purposes or go to
the river to benefit fisheries and wildlife.
Given the situation of the last four
years, allocating water to address the
drought is taking precedence. The last
year posted the lowest snowpack on record and one of if not the lowest runoff periods on record, Erwin said. The Truckee
River, for example, has not been able to
provide natural flows through mid-May,
forcing TMWA to do its first major reservoir release of water since the early
1990s.
At the same time, the area is still in
relatively good shape given the circumstances and can see significant progress
if a recovery year occurs this coming
winter, even if it isnt 100 percent, Erwin
said. Instead of looking at Northern Nevada as a region with normal wet years
interrupted by drought, a more realistic
approach is to look at the area as a normally dry place in the high desert that is
interrupted by wet periods.
Just how much growth can such an
area support? The question is best answered not by water planners but the
people who live in it, Erwin responded.
According to Erwin, a utility such as
TMWA simply responds to what the community wants and works to meet that demand, whether its 6 percent growth during the boom years or less than 1 percent
growth right after that.
As a community, the question is do
we want to grow and is there a sufficient
economic engine to drive that growth?
Erwin said. At what rate do we want to
grow? What kinds of businesses do we
want?
The answer is an expression of the
local community, Erwin added. Its
really a community question.
MEET THE TEAM
Brian Duggan is the

watchdog content coach
for RGJ Media, where he
leads journalism projects
intended to affect positive change in our community. Hes covered
federal, state and local
politics for various news
organizations. He has
worked at the RGJ since
2011.
Chanelle Bessette
joined RGJ Media in
March as the Sparks
watchdog reporter,
which includes such
topics as real estate,
local government and
economic development.
Before joining the newspaper, she wrote about
business and technology
for Fortune and Forbes.
She graduated from UNR
in 2013.
Anjeanette Damon is
the government watchdog reporter for RGJ
Media. She has covered
local, state and national
politics in Nevada for
more than 15 years. She
is a graduate of the
Reynolds School of
Journalism at UNR and
has a masters in public
administration from the
Harvard Kennedy School
of Government.
Jeff DeLong is RGJ

Medias Home Means
Nevada watchdog reporter. He covers the
environment, public
land, transportation and
other issues important to
Northern Nevada. Hes
covered environmental
topics since 2000 and has
worked at the Reno
Gazette-Journal since
1996.
Jason Hidalgo covers

economic development
and technology for RGJ
Media, where hes been
a reporter for 15 years.
Hidalgo, a Fulbright
scholar, won the top
investigative journalism
award from the National
Association of Real
Estate Editors this year
for his report on questionable short sale practices.
Trevon Milliard covers

K-12 education, keeping
a watchful eye on
schools and those who
run them. His focus is
Washoe County schools,
but he also watches
state lawmakers and
education officials for
changes that could
affect students here.
Bill ODriscoll is a nearlifelong Reno resident,

has been an RGJ Media
reporter for more than
30 years, covering news,
politics and the weather,
and has seen droughts
before but none as
severe as the current
one.
7A
JASON BEAN/RGJ
Landscape and maintenance superintendent Randy Lisenby looks into a pump control unit at the Caughlin Ranch development in Reno on July 14.
HOME ASSOCIATIONS
CLING TO THE GREEN
A copy of the letter was obtained by the
Reno Gazette-Journal through a public
records request to the Truckee Meadows
Water Authority, which Brewer also contacted.
Brewer referenced this summers request by the utility to reduce water use
by at least 10 percent. She also cited community rules that discourage letting
grass grow longer, which requires less
water.
I have complied with (TMWAs request to) reduce water use, Brewer
wrote. However, if residents of Double
Diamond have lawns at a reasonable
three inches, we are subject to notices
and hearings for having an unsightly
lawn. The combined result of water conservation, which is in the best interest of
the entire Reno community, along with
the HOA requirement of shorter than
recommended lawns are two causes for
the browning.
By Jeff DeLong
jdelong@rgj.com
Green lawns are the American way.

Its true across the country, its true
across the arid West.
And its true here as well.
Turf covers many yards in the the Reno area. Its found at the entrances and
landscaped islands of shopping centers
and along the medians of housing and
commercial developments. When people
let their grass turn brown, theyre apt to
hear from their homeowners association
with the threat of a fine.
But as the West withers in a fourth
year of drought and precious water supplies steadily diminish, is that culture
encouraging use of water-sucking turf
beginning to change? It depends on who
is asked.
It is changing, said Andy Gebhardt,
manager of customer services for the regions primary water provider, the
Truckee Meadows Water Authority.
I dont know if its changing fast
enough, but it is changing, Gebhardt
said.
Others are less sure, including Rick
Clark, branch manager of a local pest
control firm who used to own a Reno
landscaping business and who has also
worked in property management.
To Clark, water providers, property
managers and homeowners associations
are all failing to make appropriate progress when it comes to saving water.
If its shifting, its not shifting much.
People want to have the greenest lawns
and prettiest flowers and the nicest landscapes, Clark said. And the solution
has always been to use more water.
The root of the issue really dates back
centuries to settlers migrating from the
East to the very different climes of the
West, said Doug Parker, director of the
University of Californias Institute for
Water Resources.
They brought the culture of green
with them. It took the form of large,
grass-covered lots and wide grass-covered medians, Parker said.
Weve been following the model of
what we brought across the country,
Parker said. The people who came from
the East wanted it to look like the East,
which is green.
One unfortunate result, Parker said,
was the loss of an opportunity to work
with what was already here, developing
natural landscapes with the native plants
that need dramatically less water than
turf. Nevada and California are among
the places particularly guilty, Parker
said.
But the situation is beginning to
JASON BEAN/RGJ
Sprinklers are seen in use on common roadside areas at the Somersett development in
northwest Reno at approximately 6:30 p.m. on July 9.
change and, largely in response to the

current drought, change at an increasing
pace, Parker said.
Things are in motion in the Reno area,
where Washoe County Commissioner
Vaughn Hartung is pushing to do away
with steps imposed by local government
he believes may amount to mandating
water waste. Hartung wants to change
regulations that require commercial developers to install turf landscaping as a
condition for project approval. Washoe
County staff is now exploring that possibility.
In a desert during a drought, those
greenbelts may be a luxury the area
cant afford, Hartung said.
We absolutely need to make some
changes, Hartung said. As we get
deeper into the 21st century, weve got to
realize there are different ways to do
things.
Brown lawns and fines

Look at our neighbor. On July 15, California water officials moved to purge
lawns from new homes and businesses
built across the Golden State. New regulations approved by the California Water Commission largely eliminate grass
from new office and commercial buildings and reduce turf at new homes from
a third of a landscaped area to a quarter.
Landscaping instead emphasizes use of
rocks, shrubs and low water-using
plants.
New subdivisions desiring traditional-looking landscapes with lawns can

still have them but developers must irrigate them with recycled water.
The new regulations were approved
two days after California Gov. Jerry
Brown signed a law barring cities and
counties from fining residents for allowing lawns to turn brown. Similar law was
already enacted prohibiting homeowners associations from punishing residents for unwatered lawns.
Its too bad you have to legislate common sense, said Democratic California
Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown, primary sponsor of the legislation prohibiting local governments from fining residents for brown lawns.
Brown represents a portion of San
Bernardino County a place with a desert environment and said things
should change there and in places like
Reno, with reduction in widespread use
of turf one easy solution.
I think things have to change, especially if you live in a desert, Brown said.
In Reno, old ways of thinking still exist. On June 3, Double Diamond resident
Sandra Brewer received a notice from
her homeowners association warning
her that she faced a $100 fine for allowing her lawn to go brown in places.
Brewer was away on business and
could not be reached for comment but
her response to the notice was detailed in
a letter she wrote to property managers.
Smarter irrigation
Clark, former co-owner of Renos Signature Landscapes and a board member
of the Nevada Landscape Association,
said such cases remain relatively common and that many HOAs in the Reno
area are stuck in practices that were
here 20 years ago.
Theyre not doing so great, Clark
said. I dont think they are nearly as serious about conservation as they are appearance.
While it often makes sense to remove
some turf, theres no reason for folks to
think they have to remove all their grass,
Clark said. But he sees a clear need to
crack down on what he considers haphazard irrigation practices across the
Truckee Meadows.
The Landscape Association has offered a basic irrigation certification program since about 2002, covering the fundamentals of irrigation installation, programming, repair and sprinkler head adjustment, Clark said. About 100
landscapers have been certified, he said.
He sees a clear need to establish an
advanced irrigation certification program which, among other things, would
involve detailed irrigation system audits
designed to reduce water waste. Such a
program, Clark said, needs the endorsement of the Truckee Meadows Water Authority to be effective.
Clark said he brought up the need for
an advanced irrigation program last
spring during a meeting between members of the Landscape Association, the
water authority and the University of
See LANDSCAPING, Page 8A
HOW WE DID IT
A year ago when the Truckee Meadows was mired in its third year of drought, the Reno
Gazette-Journal requested that water-use data for the Truckee Meadows Water Authority
be made public to examine how our community is using water.
While the water authority initially denied the request, the RGJ pursued the information and successfully obtained it from TMWA by using Nevadas public record laws.
In the past six months, the RGJ requested a database of the top 1,000 metered residential users, the top 1,000 flat-rate residential users and the top 1,000 commercial users
based on the number of gallons they consumed in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Using this
information, the RGJ was able to analyze how much water the top users in town consume.
Because the water consumption data was obtained from TMWA, it does not include
homes and businesses in the Arrowcreek, Double Diamond or Geiger Grade neighborhoods, where customers were served by the Washoe County Department of Water Resources in 2014. Those 24,000 homes, schools and businesses became TMWA customers on
Jan. 1.
8A
ARE GOVERNMENTS DOING

ENOUGH TO SAVE WATER?
walk fountain in downtown Reno a

popular feature that consumed more
than 4 million gallons of water last year
and uses water pressure washers to
scrub downtown sidewalks of grime.
The Riverwalk fountain, which runs
24 hours a day, used almost twice as
much water last year as the homeless
shelter near downtown.
Public works director John Flansberg
said the sidewalk washing is a priority
for keeping the downtown area enjoyable for residents and visitors and isnt
something the city can forgo. He added
downtown businesses, particularly a local wedding chapel, have asked the city
to continue running the Riverwalk fountain.
Were trying to impact businesses as
least as possible, Flansberg said.
The citys public works corporation
yard, which uses an average of 2.8 million gallons a year, topped out at 6.3 million last year because of a leak that has
been repaired, Flansberg said. The corp
yard cleans the equipment used for road
striping and also mixes the salt brine
used on area roads during snowstorms.
Flansberg said hes hoping to reduce

that number to 2 million this year.
Reno also hasnt been able to implement a 2009 plan to reduce turf landscaping by 25 acres, largely because of budget cuts during the recession.
And, complicating Renos effort to reduce irrigation, its using an aging central watering system thats connected to
a single weather station in Idlewild Park,
which was recommended for replacement in 2009.
The city is spending $90,000 this year
to upgrade its controllers so the system
will run more efficiently, but has not yet
budgeted money for a new weather station or to buy additional stations needed
to better react to weather conditions outside of Idlewild Park.
Both Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and
Bobzien, however, said its time for Reno
to do more.
It doesnt matter whether its the city
or even just a personal water user, now
more than ever we have to be super diligent about how we use water, Schieve
said.
Washoe Countys largest water user is
Rancho San Rafael Park, which consumed 40 million gallons last year. In response to the drought, the county
stopped irrigating the pasture at the
park that acts as a dog park. While the
water used for that pasture doesnt come
from Truckee Meadows Water Authority, the county opted not to pipe TMWA
water to the dog park because of the
drought.
At the end of the day, we didnt think
it was the right use (of TMWA water) for
our community right now to water a pasture, said Washoe County community
services director David Solaro.
The county also is letting non-critical
areas of its golf course go brown.
Like Reno, Washoe Countys largest
parks are connected to a central irrigation system governed by a weather station that automatically shuts down irrigation during rain or windy periods, Solaro said.
At parks and buildings not connected
to the central irrigation system, mistakes can occur, he said.
During a recent downpour, the sprinklers at Washoe Countys headquarters
on Ninth Street continued to run, earning
the ire of both citizens and staff.
The controller here at Ninth is a little
more finicky, Solaro said. Ive got a
note here to talk with our landscape contractor to make sure we are following
those guidelines.
The county jail also is a top water user, consuming 33 million gallons last
year.
Solaro said the jail has installed lowflow shower heads. Toilets are also
equipped with an automatic shutoff if an
inmate tries to repeatedly flush a toilet
with the goal of wasting water.
We have a lot of inmates up there that
have a lot of time on their hands, Solaro
said.
Washoe County also is looking to upgrade cooling systems at two of its libraries, Solaro said. Both the Northwest
Reno and Sparks libraries have evaporative cooling system that drove water usage to about 1 million gallons at each
property last year.
In Sparks, the largest water user is
Oppio Park, which includes 24 acres of
fields, a swimming pool and five baseball
diamonds. Last year, it used 11 million
gallons.
The second largest water user is Alf
Sorenson Recreation Center, which also
includes a pool. But city officials said
TMWAs data may be incorrect after
finding out the meter continued to run
last year when the pool was shut down
for repairs.
Sparks city officials also have cut irrigation by 10 percent and have upgraded
some toilets at city hall to reduce water
use.
The Sparks city hall and police station
use more water than their larger
counterparts in Reno, but thats largely
because of landscaping differences.
Sparks doesnt use water to wash
downtown sidewalks except after events
such as the Rib Cook-off.
Clearly we are doing our part with
what TMWA has asked, but should this
drought become more prolonged at
some point we may have to consider talking about further water reductions,
spokesman Adam Mayberry said. We
havent had discussion yet, but that
would be on the radar should we go down
that path.
All three jurisdictions significantly
reduce water demands by using treated
effluent also referred to as gray water
or purple pipe water to irrigate parks
and landscaping. Sparks installed artificial turf at its largest regional sports
complex in Wingfield Springs, saving 42
million gallons a year.
All three also are looking for ways to
expand the use of effluent for irrigation.
Brothers and Monterey Development

Group have gone up over the past dozen
years, with more coming.
Were really proud of it. It turned out
really well, said Blake Smith, president
of Somersett Development Co. Its a little city in its own right.
Water serving Somersett comes from
a variety of sources. Golf courses are
watered from wells and raw Truckee
River water diverted by irrigation ditch.
Homes as well as roadside landscaping receive treated potable water provided by the Truckee Meadows Water
Authority.
Green landscaping was always considered to be an important feature for
Somersett, Smith said.
We made it more lush than what the
city of Reno would require, and that was
by design, Smith said. You drive
through some communities and they feel
barren. We wanted to make it very comfortable, and landscaping assists with
that.
Smith has heard some criticism that
water is wasted at Somersett but feels
its a misconception fueled in part by
windy conditions that sometimes blow irrigation water into streets.
Somersett Development Co. finished
most of its work laying the groundwork
for development in 2007. If he were to begin building the community today, would
landscaping be handled differently? Un-
doubtedly, Smith said. A lot has changed

since then, including development of
more advanced drip-based irrigation
and systems that water beneath sod.
All of that is evolving rapidly, Smith
said. Today if I was building it, I would
have different tools.
At the older Caughlin Ranch development, changes are under way to reduce
water use in the community of 2,100
homes. Potable water was historically
used to irrigate all common areas of
Caughlin Ranch, with 99 million gallons
used to irrigate common areas in 2012,
according to Lorrie Olson, manager of
the Caughlin Ranch Homeowners Association.
In 2013, a project was completed that
allows the community to tap water from
Steamboat Ditch, saving some 37 million
gallons that year alone, said Olson.
Steamboat Ditch is dry this summer of
drought, forcing the community since
early June to again rely on potable
TMWA water for irrigation.
Caughlin Ranch is also removing turf
and converting to xeriscape in many
common areas, with 49 projects implemented since 2004 to remove 500,000
square feet of grass at an estimated water savings of over 10 million gallons annually, Olson said. Over the next five
years, the HOA plans to double conversion to xeriscape to more than 1 million
square feet, Olson said.
Homeowners are encouraged to

make their own changes. In 2014, one
Caughlin Ranch homeowner replaced
turf with artificial grass and 11 converted to xeriscape. Another 46 installed a
combination of turf and drought-tolerant plants.
Thus far this year, four have installed
artificial grass, nine went to xeriscaping
and 26 installed a combination.
Its really picking up, Olson said of
landscape conversions at Caughlin
Ranch. Water is a very valuable resource and we treat it like that. I dont
know how unusual we are but I think
were probably a little ahead of the
curve.
Parker of the California Institute for
Water Resources said he believes
changes are coming but also sees roadblocks. Among them is cost: While installing new drought-tolerant landscaping at new developments is relatively
cheap, converting existing landscaping
can be expensive. And, Parker said,
theres a need to convince homeowners
associations that changing landscaping
to reduce water consumption will not
harm property value.
Whether coming changes will happen
soon enough is hard to say, Parker said.
I dont know what fast enough would
be, Parker said. What is the optimum
pace of change? This is something that is
going to have to happen gradually.
By Anjeanette Damon
adamon@rgj.com
Its not just homeowners and businesses cutting back on water use during
the drought.
Washoe County and the cities of Reno
and Sparks are, too, mostly by cutting
back on irrigation of parks and landscaping.
But while the local governments,
which are among the communitys largest water users, are joining conservation
efforts, a review by the Reno GazetteJournal found they either dont have specific drought response policies or arent
following the one they have.
And even with the irrigation cuts,
some elected officials are calling for a
more aggressive approach.
There is widespread hesitation, I believe, across all the local governments to
not be too alarmist about our drought situation, Reno Councilman David Bobzien said. But the fact of the matter is
any business looking to relocate here and
make an investment in Northern Nevada
knows darn well our situation, and they
expect to see some blunt analysis and
some forward thinking on how we get
ahead of the drought rather than see all
the actors be timid.
Sparks and Washoe County have cut
irrigation by 10 percent and are exploring long-term fixes to improve water
conservation. But neither has a specific
policy that outlines conservation actions
the jurisdictions should take as large water customers when a drought is declared.
The city of Reno has a drought response plan, which calls for such things
as reducing hours at water play parks
and postponing any turf projects. But the
Reno City Council hasnt activated that
plan despite the fact exceptional
drought conditions have been declared
in the city by the federal drought monitor for more than a year.
Instead, Reno staff is working to find
ways to cut back usage by 20 percent on
their own, reducing irrigation on a parkby-park basis, hunting down and repairing leaks, recapturing water during fire
training exercises and finding more efficient ways to clean equipment.
It really comes down to our front row
staff checking irrigation and making the
conscious decision to make a difference
and show the community we can still
have beautiful spaces while using less
water, said Andy Bass, Renos parks director.
The cities and the county are among
the communitys top commercial water
users. Reno alone has 293 metered properties.
According to data provided by the
Truckee Meadows Water Authority, the
city of Renos top water-using sites consumed 186 million gallons in 2014. Washoe Countys top water users consumed
126 million gallons and Sparks top sites
consumed 118 million gallons last year.
Bass said the parks department is
working to strike a balance between providing water-intensive amenities enjoyed by the community and reducing
water use in the drought. So far, his department is trying to avoid the more draconian measures called for in the citys
drought response plan such as closing or
reducing hours for parks with water features.
Renos top two water users are Idlewild Park a sprawling neighborhood
park that includes a swimming pool and
ballparks and the Terrace Sports Complex in northwest Reno. Bass said athletic fields are the citys top priority in the
parks system, saying water will be curtailed at the high-use fields only as a last
resort.
But parks arent the only water consumers. Reno continues to run the River-
Landscaping
Nevada Cooperative Extension but said

the idea was met with little interest.
We need to get more advanced in
how we manage our irrigation, Clark
said. If were going to get serious about
conservation, we need to take it to the
next level.
Too many landscapers lack sufficient
skills in irrigation, he added.
Nine times out of 10, an HOA is going
to pick a landscaper based on the lowest
price and thats what you get poor
management practices, Clark said.
You get people who are not professional
managing your irrigation.
Reno developments
In residential developments across
the Reno area, landscaping is a priority.
After all, appearances are important.
Such is the case at one of Renos largest new communities, Somersett, where
construction started in 2002. Now, a community with two golf courses, two
25,000-square-foot clubhouses, 27 miles
of trails and seven pocket parks covers
the rolling hills of west Reno near Mogul.
Nearly 3,000 homes erected by builders
including Del Webb, Lennar Homes, Toll
JASON BEAN/RGJ
The downtown Riverwalk fountain, maintained by the city of Reno, used 4 million gallons of
water last year, according to data from the Truckee Meadows Water Authority.
WHAT LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ARE DOING TO CUT WATER USE

RENO
Trying to reduce irrigation by 20 percent, except at sports fields.

Working on a pilot program with the Desert Research Institute to use a soil sensor to optimize
irrigation.
Public works has set a goal of reducing water use from an average 2.8 million gallons a year to
2 million gallons this year.
Recapturing water used in fire training exercises.
WASHOE
Working to cut water use at parks and buildings by 10 percent.

Declined to use TMWA water to irrigate the dog park at Rancho San Rafael.
Allowing ancillary areas at Washoe Golf Course to go brown.
Call (775) 328-2311 to report leaks or malfunctioning irrigation.
SPARKS
Reprogrammed irrigation systems at city parks to cutback water use by 10 percent.
Installed high efficiency toilets in the public restroom at city hall.
Converting two parks to effluent (treated waste water).
Implementing anti-theft measures on backflow devices, which are copper and often attract
thieves.
RENOS DROUGHT POLICY

In response to a drought declaration by the appropriate agency, the Reno City Council is supposed to take the following actions:
Drought Watch: Reduce irrigation by 10 percent starting in September.
Drought Alert: Reduce irrigation by 10 percent starting in August and reduce operating hours
of parks with water play features.
Drought Emergency: Reduce irrigation by 15 percent immediately, turn off water play features, discontinue turf renovation programs and postpone new turf planting.
9A
HOTEL-CASINOS AND DROUGHT:
ITS ABOUT
AWARENESS
By Bill ODriscoll
The situation elsewhere
bodriscoll@rgj.com
The small (147-room) Western Village

Inn and Casino in Sparks, owned and operated by the Peppermill, was the ninthbiggest hotel-casino user of water per
gallon last year, according to TMWAs
records.
That casino, day in and day out its a
very busy place, 100 percent occupancy,
the volume on the floor, masses of people. So we see that (water usage) as a
function of utilization, Ascuaga said.
That doesnt surprise me.
How other resorts are doing:
Atlantis: Weve always conserved
going back many years, said Jimmie
Oaks, director of facilities. Were getting more artificial turf, installing more
rock, beautifying without wasting water.
We have property watchers, daily.
Were Water Nazis, really. Its embedded in our brains.
Eldorado: Most of our efforts went
into effect after the last drought, said
Jody Eddy, Eldorado chief engineer.
Our consumption has gone down since
2008.
Added Cindy Carano, executive director of hotel operations: Our restaurants are a place where we continually
go through training with our employees.
Turning off faucets, etc. Thats just good
management.
Sands Regency: It really is guest demand that drives (water use), said CEO
Ferenc Szony.
Before the recession, we put in a lot
of water-savings equipment. Were one
of the bigger resorts at 835 rooms, but
were also downtown, so we dont have a
lot of landscaping, things like that that
dont eat up a lot of water.
Circus Circus: Besides water-saving
plumbing and kitchen fixtures, the resorts Sustainability Team issues a periodic Green Bits internal newsletter
to staff.
The summer newsletter read, No
two ways about it, we are in a drought.
But by working together and doing the
right things, we can minimize the use of
water reserves stored in our local aquifers and reservoirs, saving that water
for the future, should we need it.
Silver Legacy: The downtown Reno
resort is conserving like the others, but
also has tried installing faux plants inside and low-water native plants outdoors, said General Manager Glenn Carano.
But he said his main mission with
staff is awareness.
We have signs everywhere reminding our members, reinforcing that we
are in a drought situation and watch out
for dripping faucets, things like that, he
said.
We live in a high desert. The bottom
line is were all in the same pool, so to
speak, he said. Its simple awareness,
and when youre aware, that faucet thats
on gets turned off.
From filling glasses to washing linens, the Reno-Sparks areas 10 biggest

hotel-casinos for water use in 2014 consumed more than three-quarters of a billion gallons.
A splash, maybe, by Niagara Falls
standards. Thats as much water as what
flows over the famed falls on the New
York-Canada border every 24 minutes
by some estimates.
But in arid, drought-plagued Northern Nevada, the collective 844.5 million
gallons tallied in Truckee Meadows Water Authority 2014 data is a lot of water.
While it takes millions of gallons to
conduct their daily business, drought
has prompted area hotel-casino operators to be more attentive to consumption.
For years, they have all done the little
things that can add up, from installing
low-flow shower, toilet and other fixtures to offering water only on request in
their restaurants.
A deeper challenge awaited Carlton
Geer, CEO of the Nugget Casino Resort
in Sparks, when his company in 2013 acquired the 1,382-room former John Ascuagas Nugget, one of the areas older
resorts that dates back decades.
When I first toured this building, virtually every faucet leaked, Geer said.
If you walk by a leaking faucet long
enough, you no longer see the leak. But
were more aware now, from the top
down. Were creating an awareness.
In the beverage department, he came
upon an ice machine that he said dated to
1961 not long after the Nugget first
opened on what then was B Street and is
now Victorian Avenue.
That machine has since been replaced, Geer said.
We know efficiency in machinery is
light years ahead in 2015 from where it
was in 1961. We had an aging infrastructure here designed in an era when energy wasnt a big issue. Were addressing
it. Awareness is so much higher now
than even 10 years ago.
He said the 29-floor, twin-towered
Nugget has spent $60,000 on three new
ice machines in the last year, adding, We
are not only saving water but creating
enough ice to save $90,000 on outside
purchases the first year.
The Nugget also has upgraded its airconditioning cooling towers which reduces water demand, Geer said, but
landscaping presents another challenge.
The Nuggets five-floor parking garage is adorned on each level with greenery, adding to its eye-pleasing profile.
If I said well take it out, Id get a lot
of complaints that its not as pretty. Its a
dilemma, Geer said. People arent
looking at its cost but at pure aesthetic
value.
He said the Nugget also sits atop an
underground aquifer and basement
pumps continuously re-inject the water
PHOTOS BY JASON BEAN/RGJ
At top, a young golfer plays at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino driving range. With the most
rooms among local resorts, GSR is also the top water-user; it washes 225,000 pounds of towels
and linens a week in peak season. A recent upgrade cut water used for laundry by 60 percent.
back down.
But by law the non-potable water cannot be used for any purpose at the Nugget, he said, adding, If we didnt pump it
out, it would flood. So its a cost to us.
That would be incredibly great if we
could use it for our cooling towers.
Saving water? No doubt

Tops among area hotel-casinos in water used last year was the Grand Sierra
Resort and Casino at 170.5 million gallons, in large part because of its size as
the biggest hotel with nearly 2,000
rooms.
Deep in the bowels of the 27-story resort east of downtown Reno lies a laundry room covering thousands of square
feet and holding a 50-foot-long Laundry
Tunnel.
Its a horizontal cylinder that in the
peak summer season washes 225,000
pounds of towels and linens a week on average, said Kent Vaughan, GSR senior
vice president of hotel operations.
The laundry system dates to the resorts beginnings as the MGM Grand-Reno in 1978, but upgrades, notably in 2013
when the GSR invested $1.6 million in a
new laundry tunnel, have shrunk water
consumption dramatically.
It uses 60 percent less water than the
previous tunnel, Vaughan said. Weve
gone from 1.2 gallons per pound to
point-5 gallons.
As with other hotels, the GSR asks its
guests if they dont want their towels
washed to hang their bathroom towels
instead of leaving them on the floor.
They appreciate that. People are
very conscious now of water consumption, Vaughan said.
He said the new laundry tunnels impact on GSR water savings since it was
installed in 2013 has been sizable, and
TMWAs data prove it: Overall consumption has fallen 7.8 percent from 2012 to
2014 even as hotel occupancy has gone
up.
Its a win-win for us, Vaughan said.
Other resorts, too, have taken steps,
big and small, to reduce their thirst.
The Peppermill Resort Spa Casino
was second in water consumption in
TMWAs 2014 data at 164.2 million gallons, and officials believe their nine restaurants as well as high room occupancy
helped.
But the 1,623-room Peppermill has
countered consumption with several
conservation measures, said Stephen
Ascuaga, corporate director of business
development, including:
o Removing all natural grass in 2012
and replacing it with artificial turf, saving an estimated 6 million gallons of water a year.
o Renovating laundry machinery with
a gray water recycling program capable of saving another 78 million gallons a
year.
o Installing monitors on the fountain
fronting onto South Virginia Street and
the waterfall at the pool that turn them
off when winds exceed 20 mph, thereby
reducing spray and evaporation loss.
o Tapping into geothermal wells thousands of feet beneath the resort for water used in heating the property, eliminating any need for outside water in that
regard.
Have there been millions of gallons
saved? No doubt, Ascuaga said. We are
way more water efficient over the past
five to seven years.
TOP WATER USERS AMONG RENO-SPARKS RESORTS
THE BIGGEST WATER USERS IN LAS VEGAS
1. Grand Sierra Resort: 170.5 million gallons
1. Wynn Las Vegas: 555.4 million gallons
2. Peppermill Resort Spa Casino: 164.2 million gallons
2. Madalay Bay Hotel: 508.4 million gallons
3. Nugget Casino Resort: 97.7 million gallons
3. Venetian Casino Resort: 452.3 million gallons
4. Silver Legacy Resort Casino: 88.5 million gallons
4. Bellagio Hotel and Casino: 435.4 million gallons
5. Harrah's Reno Hotel & Casino: 86.4 million gallons
5. Caesars Palace: 434.3 million gallons
6. Atlantis Casino Resort Spa: 72.1 million gallons
6. Oasis Residential Inc.: 411 million gallons
7. Eldorado Resort Casino: 67.7 million gallons
7. Angel Park Golf Club: 403.2 million gallons
8. Circus Circus Reno Hotel & Casino: 50.8 million gallons
8. MGM Grand Hotel: 397.4 million gallons
9. Western Village Inn & Casino: 25.9 million gallons
9. Red Rock Golf LP: 394.2 million gallons
10. Sands Regency Casino & Hotel: 20.3 million gallons
10. Southern Highlands Golf Club: 391.5 million gallons
Source: Truckee Meadows Water Authority
2013: Latest data available. Source: Southern Nevada Water Authority
10A
WASHOE SCHOOLS WATER

USE FAR ABOVE AVERAGE
By Trevon Milliard
tmilliard@rgj.com
Imagine funneling away every drop

of the Truckee River for 7 minutes a day.
At the rivers usual July flow rate of
2,650 gallons per second, it would fill one
Olympic-size swimming pool to its rim
and another two-thirds deep or supply
the Washoe County School District with
the water it uses in any given day.
It should come as no surprise that the
school district uses more water than almost any other business or government
agency in the Washoe area, according to
records provided by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority and school district.
All the districts properties combined
would span 2 square miles.
Its turf grass could cover 209 football
fields.
Its buildings schools and supporting facilities are equal in size to 40
Walmart Supercenters.
Not to mention, the district has 3,442
toilets, many of which are older models
using anywhere from 4 to 7 gallons per
flush. Theres also 1,389 urinals.
But could the district be using less
water?
With the district consuming 400 million gallons of water last year, any
changes good or bad to its water use
have huge impacts, said Jason Geddes,
who was hired in December for the new
position of energy conservation and sustainability program manager.
His job: reduce the districts draw on
natural resources and its annual utility
bill for electricity, gas and water, which
totaled $9.6 million last year.
With the area hit hard by an ongoing
and historic drought, hes focused on the
water side of spending.
And hes starting with five schools,
which may seem insignificant in a district of 95 schools. However, those five
campuses use a third of all water consumed by the district.
The target schools Galena,
McQueen, North Valleys, Spanish
Springs and Wooster high schools were
identified by compiling all water bills for
the district in 2013, Geddes said.
Using more water than most

To see how Washoes water consumption stacks up, its best to compare
against another large district in a similar
environment. Look no further than Las
Vegas Clark County School District.
The Southern Nevada district used 29
gallons per square foot in 2014, according to records provided by the district to
the Gazette-Journal. Thats about half as
much as Washoe schools 54 gallons per
square foot, and in a harsher environment.
Looking further, Washoe schools use
more water than most large school districts nationwide, according to the Council of the Great City Schools, an organization of 67 large urban school districts.
While Washoe County School District
doesnt belong to the group, it is the nations 58th largest district with 63,000
students, ranking in the top 0.3 percent
nationwide for enrollment.
The council surveyed member school
districts in 2012 and found a median water use of 17 gallons per square foot.
JASON BEAN/RGJ
Galena High School off Mount Rose Highway is one of the five top water-users in the Washoe
County School District. It has the equivalent of 12 football fields of turf on its grounds.
Geddes said Washoes high water use

is due largely to the dry climate. However, Clark County and Los Angeles school
districts belong to the council. And while
the council didnt identify the water use
of specific districts, water use ranged
from 7 gallons per square foot to 38 gallons per square foot.
School systems like Clark County
have worked at water reduction for
years while Northern Nevada schools
are only now starting.
Clark County schools have reduced
water use by 32 percent since 2000, according to district officials.
But the district got help from its water utility, the Southern Nevada Water
Authority, paying its customers a rebate
of $1.50 per square foot of grass removed
up to 5,000 square feet. Beyond that, the
utility pays $1 per square foot.
In 12 years, the Clark County district
removed 1.4 million square feet of turf
equal to 24 football fields and earned
nearly $2 million in rebates to do so.
The Truckee Meadows Water Authority doesnt offer any such program for
Washoe County customers. Why not?
We get that question multiple times a
day, said Andy Gebhardt, customer services manager for the authority, claiming theres been no sustainable funding
mechanism proposed besides increasing
everyones water rates to offset the cost
of rebates for some.
Nevertheless, Washoe schools are
heading in a similar direction as Clark
County, planning major landscaping and
irrigation changes to its five thirstiest
schools this year.
Unlike Clark County, Washoes school
district will have to foot the full bill,
which comes to $3 per square foot to rip
up sod and replace it with xeriscaping.
Pinpointing the problems

To see what changes could be made at
Galena, McQueen, North Valleys, Spanish Springs and Wooster high schools,
the district hired landscaping consultants for about $26,000.
Engineering firm Lumos & Associates recently performed audits at each
school, interviewing school staff and analyzing entire irrigation systems.
At Wooster, engineers found sprinkler heads original to the 1965 school.
The outdated sprinkler heads are about

50 percent efficient, meaning only half
the water reaches the ground.
New sprinkler heads are 80 to 90 percent efficient, according to Dale Doerr,
manager of landscape architecture for
Lumos & Associates.
They also discovered signs of a leak in
Woosters main water line, made evident
by the sound of running water underground through 5 feet of dirt. North Valleys is much newer, built in 2001, but has
been experiencing very large leaks at
joints on its main water line, according to
Lumos & Associates.
At McQueen, water pressure is so low
that groundskeepers hand water dry
patches with a hose. With such low pressure, groundskeepers only let one area
of sprinklers run at a time, causing the
school to water six days a week. All that
adds up to inefficient water use.
Galena and Spanish Springs are
plagued by high winds at all hours and
have large lawns surrounding the
schools, compounding the problem of
long watering.
Its just a lot of lawn, Doerr said of
the largest issue facing all five schools,
pointing specifically to the newer campuses, Galena and North Valleys.
Galena was built in 1992 and has
698,000 square feet of turf, which is
equivalent to 12 football fields. Thats
more turf than any other Washoe school.
All five of these schools combined
have 3.3 million square feet of turf,
which amounts to a quarter of all turf in
Washoe County School District.
Inside vs. out

Water waste doesnt stop outside
schools.
You go into some of the restrooms
and, wow, these things are from the
1930s, Doerr said of bathroom fixtures.
However, he only assessed irrigation
and landscaping, and for good reason,
said Geddes.
The districts sustainability manager
is well aware that building inefficiencies
exist. But changes come easier, cheaper
and quicker outside schools, while having about the same if not more impact on water use.
On average, about 53 percent of a
schools water use goes toward irriga-
tion. The rest is used inside, Geddes said.

Thats why the district recently sent a
directive to groundskeepers of all 95
schools, telling them water-efficient
ways to to mow, fertilize, irrigate, weed
and aerate turf. Methods as simple as not
mowing too low. Longer grass sets deeper roots, allowing it to absorb water from
lower soil.
Fixing small leaks inside schools
saves water but can be arduous and
sometimes requires special contractors
to deal with asbestos in walls. The district usually waits until an aging school
needs a renovation to make energy-efficient upgrades.
Plus, bathroom fixtures are expensive. Efficient sprinkler heads cost $50
apiece.
For the five targeted schools, Doerrs
firm is drafting major changes specific
to each campus, updating sprinklers and
fixing leaks. Plans entail restoring fertilizer regiments, which were reduced in
budget cuts of recent years.
More fertilizer means less watering,
Geddes said.
We probably wont save money
there, but well save water, he added.
The firm doesnt recommend removing any sports field turf but does suggest
changes to the sod surrounding these
schools. In some areas, plans call for replacing grass with decomposed granite,
bushes and trees. In other areas, sod will
be replaced with more natural grasses
requiring less water and mowing monthly instead of weekly.
Lawns wouldnt be entirely removed
under the proposal, just reduced and reimagined with different grasses, Geddes
emphasized.
You dont want the dust and the
heat, said Geddes, standing outside Galena High School, a green oasis at the
southern edge of Reno.
Galena groundskeeper Domingo Hernandez would be happy to see some grass
go.
Save water, save money, he simply
said, looking over the wide ribbon of
grass surrounding the school. All 111,000
square feet of it, not counting the sports
fields in the distance. People like xeriscaping as long as it looks good.
The school already replaced some sod
with stones, bushes and trees along the
parking lot.
If all recommendations are taken, the
district could reduce water use at these
five campuses by 20 percent, Doerr estimates.
Thats about 22 million gallons of water saved each year, enough to fill 33
Olympic-size swimming pools.
And it comes from changes at five
schools.
These (plans) are for these five
schools to start with, but its certainly applicable to all schools, said Doerr.
The district sees its targeted five
schools as only the beginning, a pilot program of something to come district wide,
Geddes said.
First, the district needs to figure how
much it will cost to make improvements
at these five schools, and what it can afford.
All the irrigation improvements and
turf removal would eventually be paid
off in water savings, which amounts to
$63,000 a year if estimations prove true.
UNR TACKLES WATER USE
By Chanelle Bessette
cbessette@rgj.com
Despite being known for its lush

lawns and tall, thirsty trees, the University of Nevada, Reno is striving to make
big changes in the way it uses one of its
most valuable resources.
The campus water needs are diverse,
from residence halls to landscaping to
classrooms and event centers. Off-site
locations like the universitys greenhouses, equestrian center and field lab
are also considered in the water total.
In 2014, the university consumed
about 144 million gallons of water, most
of it on the main campus.
The schools grounds services recently started upgrading its irrigation systems to more easily detect leaks and water wastage. The systems break up a single area into zones and sense whether
water pressure is good or bad in a particular zone. If its bad, theres likely a leak.
According to Marty Sillito, assistant
director of grounds services, the university has already managed to detect and
repair many water leaks this way.
As far as how much water has been
saved, however, its too early to tell.
Its all fairly new, so any data that the
smart system is collecting on water is
brand new, Sillito said. We need a year
or two to compare, then we can see
where our usage has improved.
A single system costs around $8,000
to $12,000 to purchase and install, and a
systems control panel costs between
$3,000 to $5,000. Given the high cost,
only a few can be installed at one time,
but grounds services are trying for 10 to
15 per year until the whole campus is
covered.
JASON BEAN/RGJ
Students walk past a patch of xeriscaped landscaping in Hilliard Plaza on the campus of the
University of Nevada in Reno on July 22.
Besides irrigation, the university has

gotten creative with landscaping techniques.
We have an initiative that weve taken to remediate soil on the Quad, Sillito
said. We work with this company called
Full Circle that creates a soil and compost blend to make soil have more of a
sponge feel. That lets it hold more water
so that it doesnt have to be watered as
often. This is the third year that weve
been doing that.
Starting in February and March, the
university made major efforts to replace
grass with drought-resistant landscaping. Near Hilliard Plaza and Cain Hall,
grounds services put in planters with

desert-friendly plants, all of which use
drip irrigation instead of sprinklers.
Near Frandsen Hall, they have taken out
some grass and replaced it with vines,
which use less water but still provide extensive greenery.
In some places, the university made a
pre-emptive strike on water use.
In 1987, a pilot program was initiated
at the Main Station Field Lab through
which 110 acres were irrigated using effluent water, said Natalie Savidge,
spokeswoman for the university, in an
email. Following the successful pilot,
the program was expanded in about 2002
and continues today. Effluent water is

used to irrigate approximately 800 acres
on the Main Station Field Lab. As a result, 6.5-7 million gallons of water are
saved and remain in the Truckee River
annually.
The university also planned ahead for
the campus several athletic fields,
which were installed many years ago
with artificial turf. The decision to install turf has saved a substantial amount
of water, which is helpful in light of high
water use during home football games.
Tens of thousands of people attend football games, leading to high water use for
toilets and sinks. That usage ends up being tacked on to the total annual water
usage for the university as well.
UNR, however, has also made efforts
to address high water use in buildings.
As one of the states oldest institutions, the university has many aging facilities still in place, around 25 percent of
its total sinks, faucets and toilets, in
buildings like Mackay Science and the
Applied Research Facility. But as they
are replaced, the university has installed
low-flow, automatic or even waterless
devices, like two waterless urinals located in the Joe Crowley Student Union.
All of the universitys residence halls
also use low-flow shower heads and toilets. One of the halls, the Living Learning
Center, is LEED silver certified, which
means it meets certain standards of
green building operations. According to
John Sagebiel, assistant director of the
universitys environmental program,
the new Peavine Hall is hoping to get a
LEED gold certification, which targets
water efficiency.
Its a good practice to get into, Sagebiel said.
11A
MARKET, HOSPITAL, MALL

AMONG TOP CONSUMERS
RESORT
Grand Sierra Resort: 170.5 million
The citys largest hotel casinos used
the most water compared to another
commercial sector in 2014. At the top of
the list is the Grand Sierra Resort and
its 1,990 rooms the most in the city.
In all, the major resorts in RenoSparks consumed 860 million gallons of
water in 2014, dwarfing the amount of
water needed by industry.
Among the water saving measures
the GSR has taken in recent years is a
revamped laundry tunnel built in
2013 for $1.6 million.
It uses 60 percent less water than
the previous tunnel, Kent Vaughan,
GSR senior vice president of hotel operations, said. Weve gone from 1.2 gallons per pound to point-5 gallons.
RETAIL
TOP WATER USERS BY CLASSIFICATION

For the Truckee Meadows Water Authority customers, in millions of gallons
RESTAURANT
PROFESSIONAL
OFFICES
The Olive
Garden
MEDICAL
Renown Regional Medical Center:
69.6 million gallons
Renown is the largest hospital in
Northern Nevada. Each day, about
8,000 people including patients and
employees are on the campus that
has about 1.4 million square feet of
medical facilities.
And all of those people require water, especially when it comes to keeping
things clean, said Patty Evans, the construction administrator for Renown.
There are water intensive things
that happen in a hospital, Evans said.
We have a very large boiler because
hot water is something that we use, and
steam primarily.
For starters, there are about 60 to 80
surgeries preformed at Renown each
UNIVERSITY
Wooster
High
School
NV Energy
building
UNR
CAR WASH
Quick Wash 2
3.8 6.4
7.3
11.3
15.6
32.0
35.0
144.3
69.6
170.5
SUPERMARKET
Whole Foods
INDUSTRY
UNIVERSITY
UNR: 144.3 million
All the properties run by the University of Nevada, Reno used more than
140 million gallons of water in 2014,
according to data from the Truckee
Meadows Water Authority. About 100
million gallons of that water was used
on the main campus alone, not counting
dorms and athletic facilities (most of
which use artificial turf).
The university has started to plan
drought-resistant plants around the
campus. And as building are retrofitted
or built, water-efficient plumbing fixtures are installed.
Meanwhile, off-campus facilities
like the Main Station Farm are using
non-potable water.
In 1987, a pilot program was initiated at the Main Station Field Lab
through which 110 acres were irrigated
using effluent water, said Natalie Savidge, spokeswoman for the university,
in an email. Following the successful
pilot, the program was expanded in
about 2002 and continues today. Effluent water is used to irrigate approximately 800 acres on the Main Station
Field Lab. As a result, 6.5-7 million
gallons of water are saved and remain
in the Truckee River annually.
SCHOOLS
Ralston Foods
SUPERMARKETS
RETAIL
Meadowood Mall
MEDICAL
Renown Medical
Center
SOURCE: RGJ RESEARCH

TAK UDA/GANNETT
day, which means lots of equipment

needs to be sterilized. Evans said most
of the water goes to everyday domestic
use such as frequent hand washing and
the hot water needed to make food.
Its really all about taking care of
the patient, Evans said. Improve their
health and keep them safe.
For most hospitals around the country, the largest uses of water are cooling equipment, plumbing fixtures, landscaping and medical process rinses,
according to the EPA. As for laundry,
Renown uses a facility off site.
SCHOOLS
Wooster High School: 35 million
gallons
Wooster High School is among the
top five water users in the Washoe
County School District. Those five
schools, including Galena, McQueen,
North Valleys and Spanish Springs high
schools, use about a third of all water
consumed by the school district.
Over the next year, the high school
will be part of a program to remove
turf and upgrade irrigation systems to
save water.
Part of the problem is aging infrastructure. For example, Wooster has
sprinkler heads that are about 50 percent efficient, meaning only half the
water reaches the grass. Current sprinkler heads are 80 percent efficient,
according to water experts.
They also discovered a leak in Woosters main water line, as signaled by the
sound of running water underground
through 5 feet of dirt.
INDUSTRY
Ralston Foods: 32 million gallons
The food production facility in
Sparks was the top industrial water
Meadowood Mall: 11.3 million gallons

The sprawling mall off South McCarran Boulevard saw its water use drop
by 18 percent from 2013 to 2014, according to water use records provided by
TMWA.
Mall Manager Tony Vail said in a
statement the property is replacing
water-hungry plants with artificial
plants inside the mall and drought tolerant plants outside that consume significantly less water with a new high efficiency drip irrigation system. Meanwhile, crews have retrofitted bathrooms with efficient toilets and faucets.
We believe all of these efforts will
have a significant impact on water
usage at Meadowood Mall, Vail said in
the statement.
RESORT
Grand Sierra
customer in 2014.
Grains are cooked to make our
cereal and water is an essential component of the cooking process, said Dan
Hare, a spokesperson for ConAgra
Foods, the parent company of Ralston
Foods. We carefully manage our water
usage and we are absolutely committed
to conserving water resources as much
as possible.
Among the top industrial users in
town include the Charles River Laboratories biomedical research facility, the
printing company RR Donnelley & Sons
and Model Dairy.
PROFESSIONAL OFFICES
NV Energy Office: 15.6 million gallons
The NV Energy office building at
6100 Neil Road is the largest professional office in town, said Mary Simmons, the vice president of business
development for NV Energy.
So naturally, we probably would
have the most water usage for a professional office building, Simmons said.
About 40 percent of the building is
occupied by other tenants such as Microsoft. Simmons said a lot of water is
used to cool the many computer servers located inside the building systems that run all day every day.
The building was built in 1986, has
six stories and 334,000 square feet of
office space. It also has a full-service
cafeteria, built when the office was still
far away from most restaurants about
30 years ago.
About 1,000 people are in the office
on a daily basis and most of the water use is for domestic purposes. Simmons said the building as 94 toilets and
70 sinks with automatic shutoff valves.
All landscaping water is fed by nearby
creeks and groundwater.
Whole Foods: 6.4 million gallons

A good portion of the water used at
the South Reno Whole Foods Market
comes from the stores expanded operations, said Beth Krauss, a spokeswoman
with the company.
Our stores include expanded operations like a tap room (bar), scratch
bakery, hot food bar and salad bar, full
production kitchen to fill the chef cases
and make made-in-house cut fruit, veggies and grab-and-go prepared foods,
Krauss said in an email. We also have
built-in infrastructure on site to wash
everything needed to serve these venues and keep them clean and food
safe.
Krauss said the company is bringing
in water auditors to all of its stores. She
added the company is starting to encourage employees to conserve water
at home.
Meanwhile, the companys Responsibly Grown produce program is trying
to reward farmers who conserve water.
RESTAURANT
The Olive Garden, South Virginia
Street: 3.8 million gallons
The top restaurant, in terms of water
use, is The Olive Gardens South Reno
location. The second highest? The Olive
Garden at the Outlets at Legends in
Sparks, which used 3.5 million gallons
in 2014.
Rich Jeffers, a spokesperson with
Darden Restaurants, the parent company of The Olive Garden, said the average Olive Garden sees about 5,000 customers per week, which means lots of
water for food preparation in the back
of the house.
Its definitely something were
cognizant of, Jeffers said. Were committed to taking the steps were not
wasting water.
Jeffers said the restaurant chain no
longer uses water to mop kitchen floors
-- only a cleaning solution. They also
have low-flow sink aerators and special
sinks for kitchen utensils that save
water over time.
TMWA HASNT FINED A SINGLE

WATER WASTER SINCE 2012
By Anjeanette Damon
BY THE NUMBERS
adamon@rgj.com
42
3,
4
54
3,
2,
2,
33
3,
5
40
5
05
30
38
WARNINGS ISSUED
88
FINES ISSUED
4,
0
The Truckee Meadows Water Authority hasnt fined a single water waster
since 2012, opting instead for the softer
approach of educating those who dont
abide by water conservation ordinances.
The Reno area has been under an exceptional drought declaration the
most severe category used by the federal drought monitor for more than a
year after experiencing three extremely dry winters in a row.
Under such conditions, TMWAs
drought response plan calls for both an
increase in education and enforcement.
But while TMWA has upped the number of water-wasting notice cards its
conservation consultants have delivered to individual customers, it appears
to have completely eliminated its practice of fining water wasters.
Not that the agency was a heavy finer
before the drought.
According to data obtained by the Reno Gazette-Journal, TMWA an agency
that serves 90,000 customers issued
38 fines in 2010, 30 fines in 2011 and seven fines in 2012.
Zero fines have been issued since
then.
Heres our philosophy, said Andy
Gebhardt, TMWAs customer services
manager. If someone is working on the
issue and is earnest about it, then were
not going to be the heavy. I dont think
thats being a good community member.
But some members of TMWAs
board, which is made up of local elected
officials, were unaware the agency has
stopped fining water wasters.
That is surprising, said Councilwoman Jenny Brekhus. That may be
7
0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
2010 2011
2012 2013
2014 2015
If you see a water waster, you can call TMWA

at 775-834-8005 or email conservation@tmwa.com.
SOURCE: RGJ RESEARCH |
one of the water conservation strategies

for the board to dig a little deeper into.
At the start of the drought, the number of contacts made by TMWA for water wasting dropped, according to the
data obtained by the Reno Gazette-Journal. But the number has started to climb
this year with the addition of six more
conservation consultants, who patrol
the community for water wasters and
respond to specific complaints.
So far this year, TMWA has delivered
3,425 notices, close to its 2014 total of
3,544 cards.
Gebhardt said the waste prevention
program relies heavily on complaints
made to TMWAs hotline and email center. Consultants deliver a card notifying
the property owner of the problem, as
reported or as witnessed by the consultant on patrol.
That usually does the trick, Gebhardt
said.
Most people really want to follow the
rules, he said.
TAK UDA/GANNETT
So far this year, TMWA water customers have responded to the call to
save at least 10 percent because of the
drought. In May, users saved 19 percent
and in June they saved 10.5 percent.
Gebhardt acknowledged the agency
runs into repeat violators, but said it often takes time to correct a problem.
It may take trial and error (to fix) or
they may have a vandalism problem,
Gebhardt said. A lot of people dont understand sprinkler timers.
Often violators dont know they are
watering on the wrong day, that a sprinkler head is broken or that they are overirrigating to the point water is running
off the property, Gebhardt said.
The debate over fines versus education isnt exclusive to Northern Nevada.
In 2014, when the state of California
upped its water wasting fine to $500,
some jurisdictions objected, saying they
had been able to achieve water savings
purely through education campaigns.
According to the Los Angeles Times,
L.A. city has shied away from issuing

fines, opting instead to write warning
letters. The same story references a different approach in Santa Cruz, which issued $1.6 million in water wasting fines
in 2014, but gave offenders the opportunity to attend water school to get out of
the penalty.
TMWAs fines are much lower than in
California. A first offense is $25, with
subsequent offenses costing $75. They
are assessed on a customers monthly
water bill.
Reno City Councilwoman Neoma Jardon, who sits on TMWAs board, was surprised to learn that TMWA has stopped
issuing fines. She said repeat offenders,
in particular, should be targeted.
Heres what I think, the even bigger
impact is on those doing their level best
to conserve and the frustration that they
feel when they do see a repeat offender
property and that somethings not being
done to get them to be more compliant
with the water rules, Jardon said.
Sparks Mayor Geno Martini, also a
board member, said education is a great
first step, but fines may have to pick up
if the drought carries on much longer.
The education part is great for the
short term but long term, if it keeps getting worse, I think we have to get a little
more proactive and maybe do some citations, Martini said. Here again, it depends on how much longer this lasts. A
couple more years and we may get to the
point where we start cracking down on
people.
Board member and Washoe County
Commissioner Vaughn Hartung is a fan
of the education program.
I dont know whether being more aggressive necessarily works, Hartung
said. You get pulled over for a traffic violation and citations arent necessarily a
good way to change peoples behavior.
TRADITION, SPIRIT, CULTURE

All are on display as the Numaga
Pow Wow continues today. Local, 3A
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2015
RGJ
ONLINE AT RGJ.COM
INVESTIGATES
Drought batters Nevada agriculture
Jeff DeLong
| jdelong@rgj.com
teeped in history and as much tradition as industry and livelihood, agriculture in Nevada withers in the
face of drought. Miserable mountain snowpacks have diminished rivers, lakes and reservoirs, cutting
off the flow of water needed to irrigate crops in an arid climate. Farmers in some parts of Nevada have
had no irrigation water for two years. Fields are being fallowed. Cattle are sold off. But Nevadas ranchers and
farmers are a tough lot. And determined. Theyve survived droughts before and will again. Aided by spring rains,
many did far better this summer of drought than expected. During this fourth summer of drought, the RenoGazette Journal turns from its investigation into residential and commercial water use in the Reno-Sparks area to a
look at how Nevada agriculture is faring in the midst of droughts challenge.
SIERRA DROUGHT: GROWERS ADAPTING TO SEVERE CONDITIONS
PLANT STUDY: Nevada scientists
experiment with crops common to
more arid climes in preparation for a
changing environment. 6A
REDUCE, REUSE: Bently Ranch in

Gardnerville takes wastewater from
local communities and turns it into
compost and irrigation for crops. 7A
LOW SPIRITS: Nevadas heritage

distilleries two of only three in the
country are finding the drought a
serious buzzkill. 7A
WATER SAVERS CLUB: More than

800,000 gallons saved thanks to
Reno-Sparks residents conservation
efforts. 6A
Tom Moura inspects a neighbors parched land near Lovelock on Aug. 9. While the Moura ranch has well water to sustain it, many of his
neighbors have no access to groundwater and havent been able to produce a single alfalfa crop this year. JASON BEAN/RGJ

SUNDAY BUSINESS
Pot testing lab puts safety first

for Northern Nevadas supply
In Northern Nevada, the medical marijuana industry is ramping up. New cultivation facilities, dispensaries and producers are coming online, and
with that, one type of ancillary business must take
on a vital part of the process: testing laboratories.
One, called 374 Labs, sits in the heart of Sparks. 1D
IN-DEPTH
Private schools await transfers

Nevada students are eligible for private-school
funds after 100 consecutive days in public school.
For now, all some private schools can do is wait. 11A
SPORTS
FROM DOGHOUSE TO PENTHOUSE: As a teenager,
Lenny Jones spent time in a juvenile detention center. Today, hes a star defensive end and a graduate
student at Nevada. 1C
INSIDE TODAY
$3 Retail
Local ...........................1-16A
USA Today...................1-6B
Sports..........................1-10C
Lottery.............................3C
Business .....................1-10D
Jobs/Classifieds..........4-5D
Voices............................1-4E
Our Nevada ...............1-10F
Obituaries ...................5-6F
USA Life
Color Comics
TODAYS WEATHER
High 79
Low 46
Forecast, page 14A
CALL RGJ
FOR DELIVERY
AND CUSTOMER
SERVICE:
Call 775-327-6788
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4A
5A
CROPS DIE, CATTLE SOLD IN DEVASTATING DROUGHT

Jeff DeLong
| jdelong@rgj.com
ith practiced labor, Tom Moura spills life

across the land.
Moura opens wooden gates to flood irrigation water across his still-healthy alfalfa crops. He
knows hes fortunate. During this fourth year of
drought, many of Mouras neighbors in the Lovelock
area arguably the bulls-eye for drought in Nevada
have no water for crops at all.
They havent cut at all. They
havent even got their machinery
out of the shed, said Moura, 69
and a third-generation farmer
and cattle rancher.
Ive never seen it like this before. This is extreme, Moura
said. This drought is probably
more far-reaching than any other
drought I have ever seen or I
have ever been told of.
Across Nevada, agriculture
struggles. Weeds take hold on fallowed fields. Ranchers sell off
cattle their land can no longer
support. Crop insurance that has
carried growers through the
drought thus far is drying up, no
longer available for many should
the drought continue even longer.
A wet spring and unusually
plentiful summer thunderstorms
helped significantly, greening up
pastures for cattle grazing and
allowing for a far more robust alfalfa crop than otherwise could
have been realized. Still, many
agree, the tipping point is at hand
for some who have made agriculture their life and livelihood for
generations.
No estimate was available on
the economic impact on Nevadas
$5 billion agricultural industry
from a drought that started in
2012, but a look at neighboring
California the nations top agriculture state offers a hint at
the crushing consequences.
NEVADA
AGRICULTURE,
BY THE NUMBERS
According to a report released

Aug. 18 by researchers from University of California, Davis,
drought-related
agricultural
losses across the Golden State in
2015 alone totaled more than $1.8
billion. Total economic impact to
all economic sectors combined
was put at over $2.7 billion.
Surface water shortages are
estimated at nearly 8.7 million
acre-feet, with the shortage to be
partially offset by increased
groundwater pumping of 6 million acre-feet, the report said.
Water shortages are expected to
force farmers to idle more than a
half-million acres of cropland,
114,000 more fallowed acres than
in 2014. The drought is expected
to cost about 10,100 seasonal farm
workers their jobs.
Lovelock farmers
hit hard
In Nevada, all counties but
White Pine and Lincoln are designated as drought disaster areas.
Washoe, Storey, Carson City,
Douglas, Lyon, Churchill, Esmeralda, Lander, Mineral and Nye
counties are all in conditions of
extreme or exceptional drought,
with Lovelocks Pershing County
among the hardest hit areas,
according to the Aug. 17 drought
statement issued by the National
Weather Service.
Its difficult to overstate the
dire impacts, said Benny Hodges, secretary-treasurer of the

Pershing County Water Conservation District. As the drought
lowered the Humboldt River and
levels of Rye Patch Reservoir
now at about 5 percent of capacity continued to drop, irrigation water for Lovelock area
farmers went from scarce to nonexistent. Irrigation allocations
went from 80 percent of normal
in 2012, the first year of the
drought, to only 10 percent in
2013. This year is the second in a
row that no irrigation water was
available at all.
We dont have anything. Zero, Hodges said. Weve been hit
the hardest. Were in the worst
situation in the state.
Bob Gibson has farmed alfalfa
and grains in a part of Lovelock
where drought has had the most
dramatic impact, with a lack of
water compounded by a related
invasion of crop-damaging gophers and voles. He farmed nothing this year and no longer has
crop insurance.
Im in the worst of it, said
Gibson, 69. I didnt do anything.
My alfalfa is all dead.
Gibson plans to plant some
winter wheat come fall and hopes
enough moisture will fall from
the sky for it to sprout. If it
doesnt, hes worried his land
could be damaged by wind erosion.
Gibson, too, considers this
drought and its impact on Nevada agriculture to be historic in
scope.
There has never been anything like this, Gibson said.
Well saves day

at ranch
At the Moura spread, things
are going a little better. Thats in
part due to better soil conditions
and also thanks to a wet May that
dropped 5 inches of precious rain
across the area.
Perhaps most important is a
well Moura drilled at this ranch
Lifelong rancher and farmer Tom Moura takes a drink of well water flowing on his ranch north of Lovelock on Aug. 9.
in 1999. It was meant to supplement Humboldt River irrigation

supplies but this summer is the
only thing that has allowed continued irrigation. While the wells
water quality isnt the best, its
kept him in the business of growing alfalfa. Moura harvested two
cuttings of the crop and expects
part of a third.
It has kept us going, Moura
said. Were doing very well for
the situation that is here.
When he starts to feel down,
Moura said, he drives through
others parts of Lovelock where
farmers like his friend Gibson
are at a dusty standstill. Moura is
concerned many growers will

have no insurance to fall back on
should the drought continue. You
have to have crops to have crop
insurance. Many dont.
Their stands have deteriorated to the point theres nothing
left, Moura said. Most everyone has gone through the insurance program. That keeps them
paying the bills, not making any
money, but paying the bills. I
dont know how much longer they
can hold on.
Like many, Moura is hoping
predictions of a strong El Nino
will mean a big winter but he
knows theres no guarantee. A
fifth dry year could be catastrophic for many, he said.

If its another dry winter?
Ouch. I dont know whats going
to happen, Moura said.
When he looks to the future,
Moura acknowledges concern.
His 42-year-old son, Anthony, is
working the ranch and will likely
take over when Moura retires.
Anthonys 11-year old son, Devon,
shows interest in agriculture as
well.
Hes hoping future generations will continue what Moura
describes as just a good way of
life.
Thats kind of my concern
right now. Id like to see the generations continue in farming,

Moura said. Were starting to
see a resurgence of young people
coming in and thats the only way
agriculture can continue to exist.
Droughts a
desert reality
In the face of drought, Nevada
agriculture has been challenged
but continued to flourish, said
Jim Barbee, director of the Nevada Department of Agriculture. In
2014, in a third year of drought,
total food and agriculture ex-
ports from the Silver State surpassed $200 million for the first
time, an important milestone,
Barbee said.
We produce food every year.
We feed Nevada citizens every
year, Barbee said. Weve operated in a desert climate for over
100 years. Thats how agriculture
started in this state.
Part of agriculture in a desert
climate, Barbee said, is dealing
with drought. Even if the current
one does stand out in severity,
droughts have come before and
will again.
Its a tough drought, theres
no doubt, Barbee said. But it
isnt our first drought and it wont
be our last. Its one of the realities
of living in the desert.
In this arid climate, water is
always a precious commodity,
and for that reason, ranchers and
farmers are always looking for
ways to most efficiently use the
resource both when drought
conditions exist and when water
is relatively plentiful, Barbee
said. He points to examples in
Northern Nevada:
At Bently Ranch in Douglas
County, reclaimed water obtained from local sewer districts
has been used for the last decade
to irrigate alfalfa crops and solid
waste is employed in extensive
composting operations.
Its about as clean-looking
water as you can see, Barbee
said of a water source that has
proved pivotal to ranch operations this fourth summer of
drought. What theyve done is
just phenomenal.
At Wadsworth, NVAg LLC is
experimenting with a new type of
greenhouse that grows tomatoes,
basil, cucumbers and other
crops, watering the plants from
beneath a surface of sand in
which the plants are growing. Capable of operating throughout
the year, the subsurface hydroponic system uses a fraction of
the water that would be used in
sprinkler irrigation, said NVAgs
Spencer Scott.
Daralyn Moura points out the animal she wants for her upcoming 4-H
competition while working at the Moura Ranch near Lovelock on Aug. 9.
Its got huge potential. Its

such a minimal for water consumption, Scott said. He said his
company plans to break ground
on a production greenhouse in a
couple of months.
Other, long-standing Nevada
farmers are looking at changes,
including increasing crop diversification. Its occurring in the
Fallon area where youre probably seeing the point of the spear
with regard to diversification,
Barbee said.
Part of that spearpoint is Lattin Farms, 4 miles west of Fallon.
While the bulk of the 400-acre operation is dedicated to traditional
alfalfa and grain growing, another 100 acres at the certified organic farm are dedicated to growing fruits and vegetables cantaloupes, watermelon, squash,
pumpkins, cucumbers, eggplant
and peppers, to name a few.
If Lovelock lies at droughts
ground zero, Fallon faces its own
challenges. After a lowering Lahontan Reservoir forced cuts in
allocation of irrigation water to
45 percent in 2014, allocations
were further reduced to 21 percent this summer. With another
dry year, we just wont have water to provide delivery, said

Rusty Jardine, manager of the
Truckee-Carson Irrigation District.
Thats why irrigation strategies like those employed at Lattin
Farms may become increasingly
important.
It was back in 1992 and amidst
the last major drought to hit
Northern Nevada that Rick Lattin, now 71, first turned to drip irrigation to water his melon crop.
Hes been working to perfect the
system over the last 20-plus
years and now waters 20 acres of
his crops by drip irrigation.
While many of his fields are fallowed this summer, those irrigated by drip have proved crucial to
business.
That conversion to drip irrigation has saved our rear ends
during this drought, Lattin said.
Were all learning through this
drought. Were learning to grow
and to use water more efficiently.
Its tough learning but we will all
be better managers of water because of this drought.
We will live through it. We
will weather it out.
4,137
5.9 million
82.7 percent
12.8 percent
4.3 percent
1,429
421
$716 million
$283 million
$218 million
$5.3 billion
Number of farms and

ranches in Nevada.
Acres dedicated to farming

and ranching.
Agriculture land-use as
pastures.
Agriculture land-use
as crop land.
Other agriculture
land-use.
Average size of a Nevada

farm in acres.
Average size of a farm

in U.S. in acres.
Cash receipts from all

Nevada agricultural
commodities in 2012.
Value of cash receipts in

cattle and calves in 2012.
Value of alfalfa hay

production in 2012.
Total economic impact of

Nevada agriculture.
Source: Nevada Department of Agriculture, 2015 report to the Legislature
6A
Water Savers Club total: 833,000 gallons conserved

Mark Robison
your usage and qualify to win one of

three gift cards from Moana Nursery,
two for $100 and one for $300. Just
enter your summer water usage off
your water bills by Sept. 30. Details at
RGJ.com/sierradrought.
On Oct. 1, we will pick the gift card
winners and announce the clubs overall summer water savings.
The club has one more event
planned before then. Among our past
events, we have set up water-saving
| mrobison@rgj.com
So far this summer, members of the

RGJ Water Savers Club have saved
about 833,000 gallons.
We created the club to help the community learn how to save more water
and track what they do save compared
with last year.
About 70 people have signed up for
the club.
It is not too late to join and track
landscape workshops at Moana Nursery, a drought-resistant plant tour for

Girl Scouts, a bus tour with the Truckee
Meadows Water Authority showing
where Renos water comes from, a Q&A
with water experts including a Desert
Research Institute hydrologist in downtown Reno and a behind-the-scenes tour
of the Peppermills water-saving upgrades.
Next up, kids will learn about the
Truckee River ecosystem and water
conservation at a free event from 6 to 8

p.m. Sept. 15 at McKinley Arts & Culture Center. There will be a lesson with
city of Reno staff about the uniqueness
of the Truckee River as the only closedlake system in the United States. Kids
and parents will then learn creative
ways to save water with the Girl
Scouts Wonders of Water activities.
Recommended grade range: kindergarten through 5th. Reserve your free
tickets at tickets.rgj.com.
Biochemistry professor John Cushman talks about the benefits of agave plants at University of Nevada, Reno's College of Agriculture greenhouse complex on Aug. 5.
UNR EXPERIMENTS WITH

DROUGHT-TOLERANT CROPS
Jeff DeLong
jdelong@rgj.com
In the protected environment of a Reno greenhouse, potential players in the

future of Nevada agriculture flourish.
Theres camelina, a tall but narrow
member of the mustard family with oilrich seeds that could produce a biodiesel
fuel to power trucks and planes. In another room sit rows of spineless prickly
pears, which produce a popular fruit that
tastes like a combination of mango and
watermelon but could also be used in the
textile industry, to produce ethanol and
as forage for cattle.
And there are a couple of types of agave, a spiny, succulent plant found across
Mexico and the Southwest. Agave also
offers potential for biofuel production
but is best known for making tequila.
All have this in common: They need
much less water than many conventional
crops, are tolerant to droughts like the
one now firmly gripping Nevada and offer the potential to play a significant role
in the future of agriculture in this arid
state particularly as conditions warm
due to climate change.
If we go to more drought-tolerant
crops, we would have the ability to maintain an agricultural industry, but its going to require a major retrofit in how agriculture is done, said John Cushman, a
biochemistry professor at the University of Nevada, Renos College of Agriculture.
Biochemistry professor John Cushman shows off some camelina seeds. Camelina plants can be
used for biodiesel fuel and are drought-resistant.
grain roughly the size of a poppy seed

that not only offers a nutty flavor but is
highly nutritional.
Teff is native to and grows in the desert climate of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
It also grows in Fallon, one of several
spots in Nevada where teff is being studied as a rotational crop for alfalfa, with
up to 1,200 acres of the summer annual
crop grown here. After growing and being harvested for five or six years, an alfalfa stand is typically replaced by another crop for a time, typically winter
wheat or corn. Teff looks to become a
promising option and uses far less water,
said Jay Davison, a crops specialist with
the University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension.
Alternative crops explored

In Nevada, water-hungry alfalfa is
king. Its the states dominant crop, partly due to its close connection to Nevadas
other primary agricultural operation,
cattle ranching. Thats not likely to
change any time soon.
Still, changes are occurring and new
opportunities are being explored. One
such opportunity is offered by teff, a fine
Its become really a good crop for us

here. A farmer can make a very good return with this, and it only uses a portion
of the water, Davison said, adding that
Nevada has the potential to provide half
of the demand for teff in the United
States.
If teff already has a foothold in Nevada, Cushman and colleagues are studying other crops that might someday in
the future.
On a half-acre plot at the agricultural
experimentation station at Logandale
about an hours drive east of Las Vegas,
researchers are growing three varieties
of spineless prickly pear, testing how
well they do with varying amounts of watering.
They are doing excellent. Some of

them are just monster big, said Carol
Bishop, educator with the University of
Nevadas Northeast Clark County Cooperative Extension.
While Cushman is exploring the
plants potential use in ethanol production, Bishop is most interested in the
market for human consumption. The
plants sweet-tasting fruit is already popular in the Hispanic market but could be
marketed to many others as jams, jellies
and drinks, Bishop said. She plans to
soon start a statewide competition for
prickly pear recipes.
Theres an incredible lot of potential
to expand beyond the traditional Hispanic use into the mainstream market,
Bishop said.
One type, agave Americana, also
known as the century plant, can already
grow well in Nevada. Agave tequilana,
the type used to make, you guessed it, tequila, does not because even Southern
Nevada is too cold.
Climate change, Cushman said, could
change that before long. And droughts
expected to accompany a changing climate may make necessary a new way of
looking at things, he said.
With global warming, it will be warm
enough soon, in the next decade or so,
Cushman said. Right now, the climate is
too cold, but in the future, as the climate
warms slowly, we expect to see the
places agave can grow to migrate north.
Regardless of what the climate does,
the idea of making major changes in Nevada agriculture is sure to meet some resistance, Cushman said. It will require a
cultural shift.
Agriculture is very conservative.
You have fourth and fifth generations
growing alfalfa in Fallon and they want
to keep doing the same thing, but they
wont be able to, Cushman said.
Change is always difficult. I think
change might be precipitated by these
catastrophic drought events.
NORTHERN NEVADA MOUNTAIN SNOWPACK

The rivers that provide irrigation water for agriculture in Northern Nevada have been reduced to trickles after four years
of drought have steadily diminished mountain snowpacks. Percent of normal snowpack as of April1:
15
20
14
20
13
20
12
20
11
LAKE TAHOE BASIN
20
15
20
14
20
13
20
2
20
1
TRUCKEE RIVER BASIN
20
1
15
20
14
20
13
20
12
20
11
CARSON RIVER BASIN
20
5
20
1
14
20
13
20
12
20
11
LOWER HUMBOLDT RIVER
20
15
20
14
20
13
20
12
20
20
11
UPPER HUMBOLDT RIVER
7A
RANCHS DIVERSIFIED WATER

SUPPLIES KEEP IT AFLOAT
Jeff DeLong
jdelong@rgj.com
At Douglas Countys Bently Ranch,

these days the backup is squarely up
front.
Reclaimed wastewater is used to water crops late every irrigation season,
but this year, during a protracted
drought, its largely whats keeping the
place in the business of agriculture.
If we were just on surface water, we
would have stopped irrigating a month
ago. Wed be dry, said Matt McKinney,
ranch manager. Now we can go all summer long. Its a lifesaver.
It was a decade ago that the ranchs
founder, inventor and philanthropist
Donald Bently, first signed a contract
with the sewer districts serving MindenGardnerville and Lake Tahoes Zephyr
Cove area to receive effluent water for
irrigation use.
All winter long, treated wastewater is
pumped from the two sewer districts to a
reservoir built on ranch property. Come
summer, the water is used to irrigate
Bently Ranchs primary crop, high-quality alfalfa hay, which is in turn sold as
cattle feed to dairy farms in California.
Bently Ranch also receives biosolids from the wastewater plants a
combination of fecal matter and household garbage put down sink disposals
which is combined with wood chips and
green yard waste to ultimately produce
fertilizer in the only such major composting operation now existing in Northern Nevada.
Its agriculture with a full-circle, sustainable philosophy that is now paying
off big-time.
At Bently, the drought has posed the
same challenges as it has to farms and
ranches across Nevada. Back-to-back
dry winters produced a dismal Sierra
snowpack that drains into the lush agricultural fields of the Carson Valley, with
JASON BEAN/RGJ
General Manager Matt McKinney walks on the edge of the treated wastewater reservoir at the
Bently Ranch near Minden. The ranch uses the water on crops and converts the waste solids
into fertilizer.
BENTLY RANCH, AT A GLANCE

62,000 ACRES FARMED OR RANCHED IN CARSON VALLEY AND NEAR RED BLUFF, CALIF.
PRIMARY PRODUCTS BEEF CATTLE AND ALFALFA HAY.
6,000 ACRES FARMED IN CARSON VALLEY.
CROPS ROTATED INTO ALFALFA FIELDS INCLUDE WHEAT, RYE, BARLEY AND OATS.
BENTLY RANCH MEATS MARKETS GRASS-FED BEEF.
BENTLY RANCH IS NOW CONVERTING HISTORIC MINDEN FLOUR MILL INTO LIQUOR DISTILLERY.
the past winter the worst one yet. On

April 1, the Carson River Basins snowpack was officially measured at 4 percent of normal for the date, according to
the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service.
It was the lowest in history, McKinney said. Every year we have a certain
amount of water, but this year that pie

was pretty small.
As he had the previous two drought
years, McKinney sold off some of Bently
Ranchs beef cattle, with about 600 sold
in all thus far due to worsening drought
conditions. McKinney fallowed some
500 acres that otherwise would have sup-
ported alfalfa or other crops grown at

Bently Ranch such as wheat, rye, barley
and oats.
The situation looked dire, with McKinney predicting the ranch would be
cut off from all Carson River irrigation
water by June 1. Then came that unusually wet May a blessing to agriculture
across the state that dropped rain particularly beneficial to pastures used for
grazing the ranchs cattle.
Once the benefits of those spring
rains faded away, Bentlys unique irrigation source of reclaimed water came
fully into play. In a drought year where
many Nevada growers have had to substantially cut back on their alfalfa crops,
McKinney expects to get three full cuttings and a portion of a fourth.
Thats where that effluent water is
saving my butt, McKinney said. Mr.
Bently was always forward thinking.
When that water became available, he
jumped at it.
The contract making that water available remains in place another 65 years,
guaranteeing continued long-term access to what has proven to be a crucial
backup supply of water.
Benefits are also enjoyed by the sewer districts and their customers, with
Bently providing a ready location to dispose of both effluent water and the solids
used for composting that otherwise
would have to be taken to a landfill at significant expense, said Frank Johnson,
manager of the Minden-Gardnerville
Sanitation District.
It works out for us because we have a
place to dispose of it, which is beneficial
for us and them, Johnson said. It works
out for everybody.
The effluent is waste that we in agriculture can make use of, McKinney
agreed. Were making it into a product.
Before it was just waste. We have an insurance policy, or money in the bank,
whatever you want to call it.
DROUGHT SERIOUS SETBACK

TO NEVADA DISTILLERIES
Mike Higdon
mhigdon@rgj.com
If El Nio doesnt deliver much-needed water this winter, the stills could run
dry at two of Nevadas craft spirits businesses: Frey Ranch Estate Distillery in
Fallon and the future Bently Heritage
Estate Distillery in Gardnerville.
We are keeping our fingers crossed
for a powerful El Nio, said Ashley
Frey, owner of Frey Ranch along with
her husband, Colby.
Frey Ranch and Bently, set to open in
2017, are two of just three estate distilleries in the United States. The third is in
New York. An estate distillery grows 100
percent of its own ingredients, then distills, bottles and sells all the spirits on the
same property.
Distilleries use rye, barley and wheat
to make vodka, gin and whiskey. Without
adequate water, nothing grows and no
one drinks.
This year, most of the grain at Frey
Ranch, a distillery, vineyard and alfalfa
farm, withered and died. Fallon farmers
were only allowed to irrigate once in
June with a fifth of the water needed to
sustain healthy crops. In a good year,
they can irrigate 12 times.
Its the worst its ever been since 1901
in our (Truckee-Carson) irrigation district, said Colby Frey.
Bently Heritage, on the other hand,
uses five water sources, putting them in
a better place to survive the drought.
Still, they are preparing for the worst.
Frey Ranch
Frey owns a 1,280-acre farm that
grows corn, barley, wheat, rye, wine
grapes and alfalfa grass. The alfalfa supports the farm financially and requires
the most water it grew enough to sustain the farm for another year, but the
yield was not as high as previous years.
Frey is worried about the financial stability of the farm next year if the drought
doesnt improve since he sells all of the
alfalfa to a neighboring dairy farm.
The grapes are made into wine for
their wine brand, Churchill Vineyards,
which is then distilled into brandy. Since
wine grapes use very little water; they
did fine.
But the grain did not.
Last August, the season provided
enough water to grow lush fields. Colby
MIKE HIGDON/RGJ
Matt McKinney, general manager at Bently Ranch, shows "rust" on hops caused by too much
water. Bently is growing a small experimental hop field in preparation for opening Bently
Heritage Estate Distillery in 2017 and using hops in their spirits.
and Ashley stood in dense, waist-high

fields of golden barley ready for harvest
while a photographer snapped pictures
of them. The distillery opened a few
months later.
Today, patches of short, drooping rye
grass punctuate open fields of dirt. The
wheat and barley didnt grow at all. Random stalks of corn jut out of irrigation
trenches once full of water. A few small
irrigation dams stand agape, dusty and
full of dead weeds. The little bit of grain
harvested ended up mostly on the
ground under the seed cleaner because it
was too small to pass into silos for safe
keeping.
I have an employee who has a lot of
goats, so well just give it to him to feed
all his goats, Frey said.
Luckily, they stored enough grain
over the last few seasons to hold the distillery over for the remainder of this
year and beginning of next. If El Nio
provides all the snow and rain promised
by weather forecasters, Frey Ranch can
look forward to a good 2016 harvest and
continue operating the distillery.
Fallon farmers feed their crops with
water from the Lahontan reservoir,
which is distributed among them based
on the reservoirs water level. The water

flows through a shared irrigation network and farmers open dams on their
property allowing water to flood crops.
This year that water lasted for three
days, from June 1 to 3, before it ran out
and the irrigation network closed. Today,
the reservoir is nearly drained, looking
more like a dry lake bed than a water
source.
If El Nio does not refill Lahontan,
Frey said he would shut down the distillery because he wont compromise the estate status of his business by buying
grain from another farm. But he wont
stop selling his stores to other distilleries, like Seven Troughs Distilling Co. in
Sparks, because he also wants to support
the local industry.
Were a lot worse off than people who
have wells that maybe could pump more
water in drought years, Frey said.
Were very susceptible to drought in
that way.
Bently Ranch
Bently Heritage Ranch, by far the
largest ranch and farm in the Carson Valley at 62,000 acres, uses five water
sources: the Carson River Basin, Alpine

Reservoir, private ground wells, reclaimed sewage water and private fresh
water reservoirs.
On April 1, the Carson River Basin
was measured at 4 percent of its normal
level, according to the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service. Bently
Ranch makes up for this by using their
other four sources to feed alfalfa crops
grown for dairy cows. For the distillery,
theyve started experimenting with different types of wheat to find out what
grows best and aligns with their distillery goals.
If we stay dry (after winter), were in
better shape because of our water sources, said Matt McKinney, general manager of Bently Ranch.
In preparation for Bently Heritage
Estate Distillerys 2017 opening, McKinney and staff are storing grain and planning for future crops. Some of that planning involves plowing fields and leaving
them unplanted for a year. They need
1,000 acres to support the distillery but
have 6,000 acres available in case they
need to plant more wheat to compensate
for low yield.
Our ultimate goal is to make an estate distillery and make every spirit under the sun, McKinney said. We want
to overproduce everything and sell
(grain) we dont need to other distilleries
and breweries in the region.
Like the Freys, Bently also sells to
Seven Troughs, Branded Hearts Distillery in Reno and any homebrewers who
come to the office for bags of grain. But
they may pull back their outside sales depending on the weather.
Were going to take care of ourselves
first, he said.
For now, McKinney and their distillery consultants, John Jeffries and Rob
Masters, are experimenting with test
batches to learn what grain combinations make the best flavor profile. They
also planted a small orchard of 120 trees
to grow apples, pears and cherries for
naturally flavored vodka, as well as 10
varieties of hops for hop-infused spirits.
Their fields are in better shape than
Freys, though McKinney admits the
grain field is not his best work since it
didnt get planted early enough and its
full of weeds and grass. Theyll harvest it
anyway and learn from the process.
Hopefully next year it will be better,
he said.
MEET THE TEAM

Brian Duggan is the
watchdog content coach
for RGJ Media, where he
leads journalism projects
intended to affect positive
change in our community.
Hes covered federal, state
and local politics for various news organizations. He has worked at the RGJ since
2011.
Jeff DeLong is RGJ Medias environmental

watchdog reporter. He
covers water, wildlife,
public land, transportation
and other issues important
to Northern Nevada.
friHes covered environmental topics since
2000 and has worked at the Reno Gazette-Journal since 1996.
Mike Higdon, who writes

here about the droughts
effects on local spirit producers, is RGJ Medias city
life reporter. He covers
issues of growth and culture with an emphasis on
downtown and Midtown Reno, the local
craft beer and distillery scene and other
topics of importance in a growing city.
Mark Robison, RGJ engagement editor, coordinates the Water Savers

Club and public events
and writes the Fact Checker column, often focusing
on drought issues. He is
also a member of the editorial board and
has been with the Reno Gazette-Journal
since 1993.
8A
ASK THE RGJ: DROUGHT EDITION
Do dairy cows use a lot of water?

Cows cannot
contaminate
water sources
SEND US YOUR
QUESTIONS
Through September, the RGJs
Mark Robison
investigates
reader questions
about any aspect
of the four-year
drought and how
it affects life in Northern Nevada.
Send yours to mrobison@rgj.com.
Mark Robison
mrobison@rgj.com
This weeks question involves how much water is being

used by dairy operations in
Northern Nevada, whether
their waste affects water sources and whether they take water
from Lahontan Reservoir.
Short answer: Dairy cows in
Northern Nevada consume
about 438 million gallons a year.
It is illegal for them to contaminate water sources. They are
not affecting water going into
Lahontan because the dairy operations are downstream from
it, and farmers are not getting
water from it because Lahontan
water has been cut off to everybody because of drought conditions.
Visit RGJ.com/sierradrought to view

our in-depth drought coverage.
Full question
Billy Howard of Reno asked
a series of questions through
the RGJ Water Savers Clubs
Facebook group about the water usage of dairy farms in
Northern Nevada.
When I contacted the Nevada
Department of Agriculture, I
condensed them down to the following, for space considerations:
About how many milk cows
are there typically in northwestern Nevada?
Is any water from Lahontan used for milk production facilities?
How is animal waste typically handled at milk production facilities in northwestern
Nevada? Is it waste ponds? Is it
hauled away?
Are any northwestern Nevada streams, rivers or lakes affected by waste from milk production facilities?
How much of the milk produced in Nevada is exported out
of the state?
Also addressed were concerns about antibiotics and
RGJ FILE
Isidro Alves, owner of Sand Hill Farmstead Cheese, and his son, Brenan, 5, inspect some of the Jersey cows that
produce the milk used to make cheese at the familys Fallon dairy in this 2013 photo.
powdered milk production.
Full response
There are approximately
30,000 dairy cows in Northern
Nevada, said Lynn Hettrick,
deputy director of the Nevada
Department of Agriculture, by
email.
A dairy cow consumes between 30 and 50 gallons of water
a day, according to Dairy Herd
Management. The Nevada Department of Agriculture puts
the figure at 40 gallons a day.
Using that figure, this means
dairy cows in Northern Nevada
consume about 438 million gallons of water a year. For comparison, Reno-Sparks water
customers used 21.3 billion gallons in 2014. This means dairy
cows in this area use about 2
percent as much water as all
Truckee Meadows Water Au-
thority customers combined.

Hettrick did a ballpark estimate of water use for all dairy
cows throughout the state
(about 45,000 drinking 40 gallons a day) and all humans
(about 3 million using 190 gallons a day for all activities) and
found that the cows use about
0.32 percent as much water as
the humans do.
Dairy operations are located
east and south of Lahontan reservoir so they are not impacting the water flow into the lake,
he said. Some dairies may have
allocated water rights from Lahontan, but no water has really
been available to anyone from
Lake Lahontan for months because of the drought.
He said most dairies recirculate water for cooling and cleaning. Animal waste is stored and
disposed of in many ways, but
most goes onto farm ground to
restore organic matter and to

replace commercial fertilizers, he said.
Hettrick said no streams,
rivers or lakes are affected by
waste from dairies. In fact, it
would be a violation of state and
federal law, he said.
I could find only one somewhat recent case from 1999
of a dairy farm contaminating a
Nevada water source. This was
in southern Nevada in Amargosa when Ponderosa Dairy
dumped 1.7 million gallons of
waste water contaminated with
urine and feces, which flowed 8
miles across the desert into the
Amargosa River in California.
The company that operated the
dairy Rockview Farms
was fined more than $250,000
and the manager was placed on
three years probation.
Approximately 30 percent of
Northern Nevada dairy produc-
tion is sold within the state, Hettrick said. The fluid milk tends
to go to California while most of
the powdered milk is sold to
South American and Asian
countries.
This exported milk provides a great impact to our local
economy, he said.
Howard had a couple of other
questions: Powdered milk is
created through a process of
evaporation. Does that have an
effect on local climate? Since
milk contains so many antibiotics, when it rains are milk molecules contained therein?
Hettrick responded, Powdering milk has no effect on our
climate. The evaporated water
is actually captured and used
for cleaning before going to a
waste water treatment facility
and being discharged.
He added, Milk does not
contain antibiotics. It is a violation of federal law for milk intended for human consumption
to contain antibiotics. Every
single shipment of milk is tested for antibiotics ... to assure the
safety of our milk supply.
The Food and Drug Administration released a study earlier
this year based on surveys of
samples from almost 2,000
dairy farms. Antibiotics and
other drugs can end up in milk
when they are used on dairy
cows to keep them healthy.
Small levels of drugs are allowed in milk, but residues that
go beyond certain thresholds
are illegal, CBS News reported. Less than 1 percent of the
total samples showed illegal
drug residue.

RGJ Drought Investigation

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RGJ Drought Investigation

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SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2015

WATER USE GROWS

JOIN THE WATER SAVERS CLUB

By Jeff DeLong | jdelong@rgj.com

Weve put together the free RGJ Water Savers

ONLY IN THE SUNDAY RGJ

Q&A with Wolf Pack alum

BEST FATHERS DAY EVER

Guardsman surprises family

SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2015

RGJ INVESTIGATES: SIERRA DROUGHT

Series examines water use in time of drought

ity initially denied the request, the

port on our own use in our examination

find ways to conserve, track your use

Continued from Page 1A

average flat-rate home consumed

Weather, growth play role

driving up water use in October and November, Foree said.

Whos using the most?

And while the golf course had cut its

water during this time that were under

Were in the middle

MEET THE REPORTER

MEET THE EDITOR

Jeff DeLong is RGJ Medias Home Means Nevada watchdog reporter.

SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2015

RGJ INVESTIGATES: SIERRA DROUGHT

A private golf course built by

To address the danger of being cut off

day per person in 2010.

Lessons lead to changes

on warnings and public education, more

COMING UP IN RGJ INVESTIGATES: SIERRA DROUGHT

ONLINE MAP OF TOP USERS

Join us at 11 a.m. Wednesday

What neighborhoods are home to the biggest water users?

AUGUST: How the drought is putting a stranglehold on Nevada agriculture.

SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2015

RGJ INVESTIGATES: SIERRA DROUGHT

Just about everyone thought three

ter customers will be billed with meters

Is our drought plan adequate?

for the Truckee River, Shane Ritter

I feel like we ought to be doing 15 percent this

Lynn said. I think we need to rethink our

The nine-year drought plan is designed to ensure the region weathers a

Do we cut more than 10 percent?

ity expects to use about 7,000 acre feet.

Should we charge more money?

WHAT DROUGHT IS AFFECTING

After the big winter of 2011

The Truckee River dropped

One of the droughts biggest

Drought-parched forests are

Lack of water and natural

The Reno-Tahoe areas vital

SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2015

RGJ INVESTIGATES: SIERRA DROUGHT

FLAT RATES TO END

When Dick and Toni Lowden built

I dont blame them. I can certainly

Putting off the decision

more time to adapt to a change that could