Let’s have the conversation about water that Nevada needs to have NOW—not when the reservoirs are nearly empty.
Nevada is the driest state in the nation, and Southern Nevada faces a particularly difficult water challenge. The Colorado River is under enormous pressure, Lake Mead has experienced major declines, and the region continues to deal with prolonged drought, warming temperatures and reduced runoff.
So my question is simple:
How do we get more water into Nevada?
I don't believe the answer is simply telling residents to take shorter showers.
Conservation is important—but conservation cannot manufacture water.
Nevada needs a comprehensive strategy that focuses on bringing water in, capturing water, recycling water, storing water and protecting the water we already have.
🚰 1. Build a Nevada Water Pipeline Strategy
We should seriously investigate whether water can be transported into Nevada from sustainable sources outside the state.
That doesn't mean taking water from communities that need it.
It means identifying areas where excess seasonal water, stormwater or other legally transferable supplies could be captured and transported during periods when water is abundant.
Think of it as a regional water grid.
Electricity can travel hundreds of miles through transmission systems.
Why shouldn't water infrastructure receive the same level of strategic thinking?
Any interstate transfer would have to account for water rights, environmental impacts, interstate agreements, costs and the needs of the source communities.
But we should at least be aggressively studying the possibilities.
🌧️ 2. Capture Stormwater Instead of Watching It Run Away
Nevada is a desert—but that doesn't mean Nevada never gets significant rainfall.
When major storms hit Southern Nevada, enormous amounts of water can move through washes, flood channels and drainage systems.
Instead of viewing stormwater only as a flood-control problem, we should increasingly view it as a potential water resource.
Imagine strategically designed:
Stormwater capture basins
Recharge ponds
Retention reservoirs
Underground aquifer recharge systems
Urban runoff collection systems
Flood-control infrastructure designed for future water recovery
The goal would be:
RAIN → CAPTURE → TREAT → STORE → RECHARGE → REUSE
Nevada is already studying groundwater recharge and improving its understanding of how much water naturally recharges its groundwater basins.
We should accelerate that work.
💦 3. Recycle Water—Again and Again
Southern Nevada already has one of the nation's most advanced water-reuse systems.
But I believe we should continue pushing the technology.
Water shouldn't necessarily be considered “used” after one cycle.
It can be:
Used → Treated → Recycled → Treated Again → Reused
Nevada's existing water-resource strategy already includes water reuse and return-flow credits as permanent resources.
The future should be about creating a circular water economy.
Instead of constantly searching for a brand-new gallon of water, we should maximize the number of useful times each gallon can serve the community.
🌊 4. Expand Desalination Partnerships
Let's talk about desalination.
Yes, Nevada is landlocked.
But Nevada is connected economically and politically to states and regions that have access to the Pacific Ocean.
The question should be:
Can Nevada participate in regional desalination projects in exchange for water, conservation credits, funding, or other legally structured water benefits?
This is not a simple solution.
Desalination requires enormous amounts of energy, substantial infrastructure and responsible management of concentrated brine.
But technology is changing.
The 2026 Southern Nevada Water Authority plan already identifies future Colorado River transfers/exchanges involving desalination and Colorado River partnerships, with an estimated potential of 20,000–40,000 acre-feet per year.
That tells me the conversation is already happening.
We should make it bigger.
🏜️ 5. Recharge Nevada's Aquifers
Nevada has enormous groundwater resources—but groundwater isn't an unlimited checking account.
We need to know exactly how much is naturally entering each basin, how much is being withdrawn and how much can realistically be replenished.
Artificial groundwater recharge could potentially use:
Captured stormwater
Treated wastewater
Excess surface water
Seasonal flows
Other appropriately treated sources
The Nevada Water Initiative is already working with the Desert Research Institute and USGS to improve understanding of groundwater recharge, discharge and interbasin flows.
That research needs to become infrastructure and policy.
🏗️ 6. Build Water Storage Like We Build Energy Storage
One of the biggest lessons from the Colorado River crisis is that timing matters.
When water is available, we need places to put it.
Nevada and the Southwest already use water banking.
Southern Nevada's current portfolio includes groundwater banking and interstate banking in Arizona and California, along with water stored in Lake Mead.
But imagine expanding the concept:
A Nevada Water Savings Account
During wet years:
STORE WATER.
During drought:
WITHDRAW WATER.
That would allow Nevada to operate more like a household that saves money during good economic years instead of waiting until an emergency.
🌱 7. Stop Treating Every Drop of Conservation as the Same
We should continue conservation—but we should become much more strategic about it.
Southern Nevada has already reduced per-capita water use substantially. SNWA reports a 58% reduction in per-capita water use between 2002 and 2025, despite significant population growth.
That's impressive.
But we should ask:
Where are the next 10%–20% of savings coming from?
Look at:
Golf courses
Landscaping
Cooling systems
Commercial buildings
Hotels
Restaurants
Industrial facilities
Data centers
New development
Agricultural water use
The biggest users should have the biggest responsibility for efficiency.
🏢 8. Make New Development Water-Positive
Nevada is growing.
Las Vegas is growing.
Industrial development is growing.
Data centers are growing.
Residential development is growing.
Every new development should answer a basic question:
Where is the water coming from?
And I would take that one step further.
New large-scale developments should be required—or strongly incentivized—to offset their water consumption through conservation, reuse, recharge or new supply projects.
Imagine a requirement that a major development doesn't simply consume water.
It helps create water security.
☀️ 9. Pair Water Infrastructure With Renewable Energy
Here is where Nevada has an enormous advantage:
SUN.
Nevada has abundant solar energy.
If we are going to pursue energy-intensive technologies such as advanced water treatment, desalination, recycling and pumping, we should explore pairing those facilities with renewable energy.
The objective:
Clean energy → water treatment → water storage → water security
That could become an important part of Nevada's long-term infrastructure strategy.
💰 10. Create a Nevada Water Infrastructure Fund
This may be the biggest idea of all.
Create a dedicated Nevada Water Security Fund financed through a combination of:
State funding
Federal infrastructure funding
Water utility revenues
Development impact fees
Public-private partnerships
Environmental investments
Water conservation savings
Infrastructure bonds
The money would be dedicated exclusively to projects that:
CAPTURE.
RECYCLE.
RECHARGE.
STORE.
CONSERVE.
IMPORT.
PROTECT.
Water security should be treated as critical infrastructure—just like roads, electricity, telecommunications and public safety.
💧 My Vision for Nevada
I don't think Nevada should wait until the next major water crisis to ask these questions.
We need to think 50 years ahead.
What does Nevada look like with another million residents?
What does Las Vegas look like if temperatures continue rising?
What happens if Colorado River flows continue declining?
What happens if Lake Mead reaches critically low elevations?
And perhaps the most important question:
What are we building TODAY to make sure our children aren't fighting over water TOMORROW?
The answer cannot be one solution.
It needs to be a portfolio.
MORE RECYCLING.
MORE STORMWATER CAPTURE.
MORE GROUNDWATER RECHARGE.
MORE STORAGE.
MORE CONSERVATION.
MORE TECHNOLOGY.
MORE REGIONAL COOPERATION.
MORE RESEARCH.
AND, WHERE FEASIBLE, NEW SOURCES OF WATER.
Nevada has already demonstrated that innovation can dramatically reduce water consumption. Now we need to apply that same creativity to water supply.
Because the question shouldn't be:
“How long can Nevada survive with less water?”
The question should be:
“How do we build a Nevada that has enough water for the next generation?”
**Let's stop thinking about water as an emergency.
Let's start treating water as infrastructure.**
