The Southern Nevada Water Authority board has signed off on a deal with several other Western states that could bring more water to the fast-growing Las Vegas Valley. The agreement has new rules for dealing with the current drought, including the operation of Lake Mead and Lake Powell during long dry spells. It also requires Nevada to pay for a new reservoir in California that would store Colorado River water that would otherwise go to Mexico. The 200-million-dollar reservoir would supply at least 400-thousand-acre-feet of water to Southern Nevada. In addition, the water authority would be able to build a pipeline to bring rural Nevada groundwater to the Las Vegas area. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is expected to sign the agreement in Las Vegas on December 13th. It will cover Nevada, California and the five other Colorado River states. Water Authority chief Pat Mulroy says the additional supplies will not lessen the need for further conservation efforts in Southern Nevada.

What someone should do is force California to change its laws that require greenery planted at industrial parks and other commercial properties. In the middle of a drought in the middle of a desert, it is totally Californian to require a lawn at a warehouse and totally irresponsible. The "big one" can't come soon enough for the rest of the country to save us from "Californication."