A wet and cool start to 2023 helped Southern Nevada consume 25 percent less water from the drought-stricken Colorado River through the first five months of the year.
From January through May, the region’s consumptive use from the river was just under 61,000 acre-feet of water, Warren Turkett, a natural resource analyst for the Colorado River Commission of Nevada, told commissioners Tuesday. That’s down from nearly 82,000 acre-feet of water consumed during the same time period last year, which was near the same amount the valley consumed in 2021 (84,489 acre-feet) and 2020 (80,885 acre-feet).
Turkett said that reduction is due to continued conservation efforts coupled with weather that was cooler and far wetter than usual. But whether the region can keep that pace up for the entire year remains to be seen, especially with the latest seasonal forecast showing conditions that are likely to be warmer and drier than normal through September.
“It will be telling to see what happens over the summer months because those are the biggest water use months,” Turkett told commissioners. “The next few months … hopefully will be consistent with keeping that reduction.”
Nevada normally gets 300,000 acre-feet of water from the river each year, but low water levels at Lake Mead have reduced that down to 275,000 acre-feet this year through prior drought agreements.
After cutting its consumptive water use to 224,000 acre-feet last year — a reduction of about 8 percent compared to 2021 — Nevada is on pace to use even less water this year. The latest projection from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released Tuesday shows the state on pace to consume about 202,000 acre-feet this year.
Consumptive use is the measurement of the total amount of water the region has used from the Colorado River minus Nevada’s return flow credits, which allows the state to pull extra water out of the river for every gallon treated wastewater Southern Nevada sends back to Lake Mead.
The states that make up the lower Colorado River basin — Nevada, Arizona and California — struck an agreement in May on a plan to keep at least 3 million acre-feet of water in Lake Mead by the end of 2026. That agreement, which still needs to be approved by the Bureau of Reclamation, would require Nevada to keep an additional 75,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead in 2023 and 2024, with slightly smaller saving commitments the following two years.
The federal government is reviewing the proposal and has said that it plans to release a draft environmental impact statement for the proposal this fall.
Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Coltonlochhead on Twitter.
This evening, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo will provide the 2025 State of the State address ahead of the incoming 83rd legislative session, which begins Feb. 3, 2025.
Lombardo is anticipated to cover a number of topics including the economy, inflation, education, housing, and more.
In addition, Carson City 5th grade choir students will be performing at the address, and a Seeliger Elementary student will be singing a solo.
Watch the full address here, which will begin at 6 p.m.
CARSON CITY — Gov. Joe Lombardo will give his 2025 State of the State Address at 6 p.m. today in Nevada’s capital, where he will share his goals and priorities ahead of the upcoming legislative session.
“I look forward to sharing the progress my administration has made since my inaugural address, and I’m excited to outline my common-sense vision for our state ahead of the upcoming legislative session,” Lombardo said in a statement, highlighting efforts to keep taxes low, balance the state budget and bring investments to education and the workforce.
“As we look ahead, I’m eager to build on our progress in education, economic development, healthcare, housing, and public safety,” he said.
Every biennium, two weeks ahead of the legislative session, the governor delivers a State of the State Address that outlines his agenda and provides a framework for what lawmakers can expect over the course of the 120-day session.
In last November’s election, Lombardo successfully fended off a possible Democratic supermajority in both chambers that would have allowed Democrats to override any of his vetoes, greatly reducing his power. While Democrats still hold majorities in both the Assembly and Senate and can set their own agenda, any bill they pass must ultimately be signed into law by Lombardo, who is accustomed to wielding his veto power — having vetoed a record 75 bills in the 2023 session.
Ahead of the governor’s address, the Nevada State Democratic Party launched an ad titled “Expensive,” accusing Lombardo of raising costs for families due to his 2023 vetoes. The party pointed to housing bills that would have capped rent increases for seniors and would have established a new summary eviction procedure for tenants, as well as bills that would have guaranteed school meals to public school students and lowered the price of Medicare-negotiated prescription drugs.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com and McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah and @mckenna_ross_ on X.
None of the Mountain West Conference games are going to be easy and Air Force proved that to Nevada on Tuesday night.
The Falcons took Nevada to the wire before the Pack recovered and came away with a 68-62 win in front of 7,430 fans at Lawlor Events Center on Tuesday.
Tre Coleman led Nevada with 18 points and nine rebounds and Kobe Sanders had 11 points as the Wolf Pack improved to 2-0 in the Mountain West, 10-7 overall. Coleman also had four assists and Sanders had five.
The six-point margin at the end was Nevada’s largest lead of the game.
Next, Nevada hosts San Jose State, at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Spartans upset New Mexico, 71-70, on Tuesday.
There were 10 lead changes and seven ties. Air Force led, 60-59, with 3 minutes, 21 seconds left.
Kobe Sanders hit a bucket to give Nevada a 61-60 lead with 2:36 remaining, then Daniel Foster hit a 3-pointer to give the Pack some breathing room.
Ethan Taylor led the Falcons (3-14, 0-6) with 22 points and Kyle Marshall added 12.
Nevada coach Steve Alford said he liked his team’s fight. saying they won the last four minutes of the first half, 12-4 and the last four minutes of the second half, 12-2.
Nevada was dismal from the free throw line, connecting on 10-of-23. including four straight in the final minute.
The Pack missed the front end of four free throws, which Alford said actually made them 10-of-27 from the stripe.
“If we make our foul shots, then this game is a different look,” Alford said. “It’s really an odd deal because we started out the year so well (on free throws) and now we’ve got to be one of the worst fouls shooting teams in the league. It was an ugly game because of our foul shooting.”
Nevada had 30 points in the paint, to 18 for the Falcons.
Nick Davidson was 0-for-5 from the free throw line and he stayed well after the game Tuesday night shooting free throw after free throw. He had nine points and four assists in the game.
Air Force hit 10-of-27 from 3-point rahge and Nevad awas 6-of-014 from the arc.
Foster started and played 29 minutes, scoring five points on 2-of-4 from the field.
Alford said Foster does what the coaches want him to do.
“Daniel has a incredibly competitive mind. He wants to win and he knows he can influence wins without scoring. He guards like crazy. He rebounds. He gets loose balls,” Alford said. “And now we’re asking him to play some point (guard) to help Kobe out.”
Air Force led 35-33 at the break after the Wolf Pack tied it at 33 . The Pack trailed by 11 (31-20) with 5:06 left in the half.
Nevada made just 2-of-8 free throws in the first half, including three misses on front ends of one-and-ones. The Pack was 3-of-9 from the arc. Air Force made 5-of-6 free throws and 6-of-12 from 3-pont range.
Nevada leads the overall series with Air Force 18-3 and has won five straight in the series.
San Jose State plays Nevada at Lawlor Events Center at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The Spartans (9-10, 2-5) beat New Mexico 71-70 on Tuesday night.
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