‘I am very sorry’: Health district board votes to ditch proposed septic regulations

Retirees Sandra and George Stewart began building their forever home in 1977, in a neighborhood off of Sahara Avenue and Jones Boulevard. They have lived there ever since.

George Stewart, a Vietnam War vet, said homeownership was a welcome prize for his service.

Now, there’s only one problem — the house’s septic system. When it was built, sewer lines did not exist in that part of Las Vegas, and the Stewarts say they now face pressure from local agencies to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to tap into the city sewer system so that the water they use can be recycled and sent back to Lake Mead.

“We’ve worked really hard and paid off our house,” Sandra Stewart said. “Then we retired, and now we’re on a fixed income. There is no way we can afford this. We’ll end up selling our dream home.”

The Stewarts were two of at least a hundred Las Vegas Valley residents who spoke to officials Wednesday during the public comment section of a special board meeting of the Southern Nevada Health District.

Board members, including several public officials from across the valley, unanimously voted to rescind proposed regulations for about 18,000 septic systems in the valley. More than 1,000 people showed up to a public outreach meeting last month to express their dissatisfaction with any change to current regulations.

Though not under consideration at Wednesday’s meeting or the last one, a previous version of the rules could have required homeowners to apply for a permit every five years for $226.

“All I want to say is I am very sorry,” said County Commissioner April Becker, following an hour of public comment that even included a caller from Sandy Valley. “I‘m thankful that you came out every single time. And as painful as these meetings are for me, I’m just happy I’m here right now to be able to vote the way you want me to.”

Water savings, but a supposed health issue, too

Southern Nevada agencies have long pushed for homeowners to consider tapping their homes into the larger wastewater recycling system in the face of what scientists call a “megadrought” that hasn’t let up in two decades.

Assembly Bill 220, signed into law in 2023, gave the Southern Nevada Water Authority the broad legal power to limit residential water use. The bill originally contained a provision that would have required septic-to-sewer conversions but was later amended to make the conversions voluntary.

The water authority has limited funds available to offset the cost of conversions should homeowners wish to apply. Available grants could cover the entire conversion, or at least a good portion of it.

Many homeowners who spoke, like Las Vegas resident Greg Austell, said they see the supposed water savings the region would gain from conversions as a thinly veiled attempt to facilitate the valley’s uncontrolled growth.

“It’s driven politically by the Southern Nevada Water Authority to get water credits,” Austell said. “Why? So we can increase expansion of the valley during a severe drought, which makes no sense. Water is essential to live. Why are we expanding?”

Southern Nevada’s water managers have said that growth is inevitable and necessary to stimulate the economy. Accommodating growth is built in to the region’s long-term water plans, which get updated yearly.

While Las Vegas City Councilwoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong voted with her colleagues on the board and said she admired the community’s persistence, she emphasized that the issue of septic-to-sewer conversions must be re-visited in the future.

“At some point, we’ve got to find a way to come to a happy medium, or a compromise,” she said. “Water is a real issue, and none of us will be able to remain living here without it.”

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.