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Wednesday, Sep 30, 2026

Did Las Vegas cut its water use in half between 2002 and 2025?

Piper Heath, The Nevada Independent
yes

Southern Nevada’s per capita water use fell from 211 gallons per person per day in 2002 to 89 gallons in 2025 a spokesperson for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) said in an email. That’s a 57.8 percent decrease.

SNWA uses 2002 as its baseline because it was the region’s peak water use year. The community’s goal is to reach 86 gallons per person per day by 2035.

The figure measures consumptive use, meaning water that isn’t recycled back to Lake Mead. SNWA calculates it by taking all the water it diverts, subtracting the Colorado River return-flow credits it earns for recycling water, then dividing by the number of residents it serves. SNWA says the metric also accounts for water used by the more than 40 million people who visit the Las Vegas area each year.

Because there’s no standard way to calculate the metric, SNWA doesn’t recommend using it to compare water efficiency between cities.

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The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.

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