Stop water waste
Report water waste
Protect our water supply by reporting waste to your water service provider or the water utility company for the area where waste is occurring. If you aren't sure who your water provider is, enter your address into our Find Your Watering Group application.
Water waste investigators need to observe waste in progress in order to take action. Some reports cannot be completed due to lack of information or poor photo quality. To ensure issues get fixed promptly, keep these tips in mind when reporting water waste.
- ☑️ Be very specific about the time, date, and location of waste.
- ☑️ Take multiple photos showing different angles and perspectives.
- ☑️ If the issue is runoff, make sure to show the property it’s running off of.
- ☑️ Show water waste actively happening, if possible.
- ☑️ On larger properties, avoid close-ups so location can be determined.
- ☑️ Make sure what you are seeing qualifies as water waste.
We're on patrol for water waste. Never allow water to run off your property, and follow the seasonal watering restrictions to avoid fines of up to $5,000.
Nearly all the water we use indoors in Southern Nevada is recycled. However, water used outside evaporates, which is why outdoor conservation and water efficiency are critical to meeting our current and future water needs.
Approximately 60 percent of Southern Nevada's water is used outdoors. This means it doesn't earn return-flow credits and is counted against our Colorado River water allowance.
City and county ordinances, as well as your water provider's service rules, prohibit water waste, and fees may be imposed on residential and commercial properties that waste water.
What is water waste?
Some violations that may result in a water waste fee include:
- Any water that sprays or flows off your property
- Watering outside of assigned watering day(s)
- Failure to comply with drought restrictions
- Using sprinklers from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. between May 1 and Aug. 31
- Failure to repair a malfunction in your irrigation system or supply line within 48 hours
- Failure to discharge swimming pool or spa drainage into a public sanitary sewer, if available
What are the fines?
Depending on your water provider's service rules and ordinances, fines can range from $40 up to $5,000 for repeat violations.
What does water waste look like?
Allowing water to spray or flow off your property is water waste.
What does water waste look like?
See that broken sprinkler? Failure to repair a malfunction in your irrigation system or supply line within 48 hours is water waste.
What does water waste look like?
What time is it? Using sprinklers from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. between May 1 and Aug. 31 is water waste.What does water waste look like?
What day is it? Watering outside of your assigned watering day(s) (or on Sundays!) is water waste.
How do I prevent water waste?
Most water waste is caused by improper or inefficient landscape irrigation. By taking a few simple steps, you can improve the efficiency of your irrigation system and prevent water waste in your yard.
- If you have grass, use the 12-minute watering method.
- Check your irrigation system after each mowing for any misdirected or broken sprinklers.
- Make sure the sprinkler heads are the appropriate size and height for your landscape.
- Look for signs of an irrigation leak, including pooling water or bubbles in your grass.
- Avoid the use of narrow strips of lawn, grass in curving areas, or grass on slopes.