An oceanographer gets quoted in a British newspaper that Las Vegas is screwed because the water will be gone soon and isn’t it just too terribly tragic, and we’re supposed to accept that at face value?. Yes Vegas, like much of the Southwest, faces a serious drought, and yes, Sue and I are moving there. However, I know something about the water situation there. The oceanographer and the newspaper apparently don’t, so instead they get hysterical (and insulting, oh that bad old Sin City with its gushing casino fountains – which use recycled water BTW.)
But, as with many things in Sin City, the apparently endless supply of water is an illusion. America’s most decadent destination has been engaged in a potentially catastrophic gamble with nature and now, 14 years into a devastating drought, it is on the verge of losing it all.
Oh you silly people, Vegas is apportioned about 1% of Lake Mead water, which comes from the Colorado River. The Imperial Valley of California gets 20% of ALL water from the Colorado River. Don’t ask how this happened, just know it is true and is a monumental clusterfuck.
Does anyone genuinely think Vegas and Arizona will go thirsty so the Imperial Valley can grow crops? Not a fucking change. They will simply take control of the dams and refuse to send the water to California. Don’t think this can’t happen.
A while back Nevada tried to grab water from Utah. The governor of Utah was “uncharacteristically blunt” about this and Utahns said they’d be standing at the lakes with guns if Nevada tried, which it didn’t.