Water Smarts Podcast

From a well-placed kick by “Mrs. Nuttington” to the body-checks by former Vegas Golden Knights hockey player Ryan Reaves, the public outreach campaigns by the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) and its ad agency have made people laugh, gasp and save water. SNWA’s Beth Moore gives the scoop on how these successful campaigns are created and the challenge of reaching the entire Las Vegas Valley on a limited budget. She also dishes fun, behind-the-scenes details about some of the more popular ads on episode 29 of the Water Smarts Podcast, “GET REAL: Campaigns that make you laugh, gasp and turn down your watering clock.”

Water Smarts Podcast Hosts: Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke

https://www.snwa.com/

In this special Water Smarts Podcast, we feature an interview by Dayvid Figler of the City Cast Las Vegas Podcast with JC Davis, Enterprise Conservation Manager at the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA). Dayvid and JC talk about a new law, AB356, that was passed last year in response to our ever-worsening drought. The law will prohibit use of Colorado River water to irrigate decorative grass at businesses by the end of 2026.  JC breaks down what the new law mandates, the difference between “functional” and “nonfunctional turf,” and why this law is so important. 

You can find the City Cast Las Vegas podcasts at https://pod.link/citycastlasvegas or on your favorite podcast app. Follow them on Twitter @CityCastVegas. 

Water Smarts Podcast Hosts: Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke

https://www.snwa.com/

A permanent aridification of the Colorado River due to climate change means those sharing the river also will have to share the pain of shortage reductions as less water flows from the Colorado River into lakes Powell and Mead. Southern Nevada relies on the river for 90 percent of its water supply yet is uniquely positioned to weather the reductions due to investments in infrastructure and the success of its conservation efforts. The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) Executive Team discusses current conditions, expected shortages and how the community can continue to grow despite the dire conditions facing the Colorado River. Featured guests include General Manager John Entsminger, Deputy General Managers Colby Pellegrino and Dave Johnson, and Legal Counsel Greg Walch.

Hosts: Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke

https://www.snwa.com/

Lake Mead’s water levels are at historic lows and the Colorado River is suffering from a decades-long megadrought, resulting in federal shortage declarations that have reduced Southern Nevada’s water supply. Since residential landscape irrigation consumes much of the Las Vegas Valley’s water, watering smart has never been more important. Doug Bennett, the Conservation Manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, shares tips to help residents set their irrigation systems so that their landscapes survive and thrive during our harsh desert summer on episode 26 of Water Smarts Podcast, “HOT! HOT! HOT! Water-smart tips to help your landscape survive the summer.”

Hosts: Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke

https://www.snwa.com/

How do you know your tap water is safe to drink? Carolyn Faircloth, the Water Quality Laboratory Manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), shares how she and her team test and monitor our drinking water to ensure high-quality water is delivered to your home or business every day. Hosts Crystal Zuelke and Bronson Mack talk water quality and how you can find out what’s in our water on episode 25 of Water Smarts Podcast, “Yes, you can drink the tap water.” 

https://www.snwa.com/

Scientists have been using sewage to track COVID-19 in the community throughout the pandemic and even now as the virus enters the endemic stage. Using wastewater surveillance helps scientists determine the prevalence of the virus and what variants are present in the Las Vegas Valley. We talk with Dr. Dan Gerrity, Principal Research Laboratory Scientist for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), and Dr. Edwin Oh, UNLV Associate Professor of Neurogenetics and Precision Medicine Lab, about how their wastewater surveillance research helped health professionals and elected officials during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two researchers share their “Ah Ha!” moments and the future of wastewater surveillance on episode 24 of Water Smarts Podcast, “AH HA! How the pandemic led to new insights for wastewater surveillance.”

Hosts: Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke

https://www.snwa.com/
https://empower.unlv.edu/

Spring is the season for renewal the time when many of us get our hands dirty and spruce up our yards. We talk with Star Nursery experts Dr. Q and Joey Lynn Watt about how to irrigate, prune, fertilize and get rid of garden pests on episode 23 of the Water Smarts Podcast, “SPRING ALIVE! Garden and landscape tips from Star Nursery’s Dr. Q and Joey Lynn Watt.” 

Hosts: Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke

https://www.snwa.com/

The permanent aridification of the Colorado River—the source of 90 percent of Southern Nevada’s water supply—means much less water will flow into Lake Mead in the future. The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) recently updated its Water Resource Plan to address aridification and other major impacts to the Las Vegas Valley water supply.   We talk with Zane Marshall, SNWA Director of Water Resources, about what this means for Southern Nevada and how everyone in the community can help protect our water supply on episode 22 of the Water Smarts Podcast, “Southern Nevada is planning for a warmer, drier future.” 

Hosts: Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke

https://www.snwa.com/

Shortage conditions on the Colorado River have reduced Southern Nevada’s water supply by about 7 billion gallons. While homeowners have worked hard to conserve water and remove water-thirsty grass, the business community is lagging behind in this effort. We talk with JC Davis, Enterprise Conservation Manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, about a new law requiring businesses, HOAs and multifamily properties to stop irrigating nonfunctional turf with Colorado River water by the end of 2026.

Hosts: Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke

https://www.snwa.com/

Southern Nevada’s water system operates 24 hours a day, every day treating and delivering water that is pumped through nearly 4,000 feet of elevation changes in order to serve more than 2 million people in the Las Vegas Valley. The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) pulls water from deep below Lake Mead, treats it, and pumps it to the member agencies, which then deliver it to homes and businesses. Join our hosts Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke as they talk with Ken Albright, Director of Operations, and find out why you can count on water coming out of your tap on episode 20 of the Water Smarts Podcast, “From Lake to Tap: Delivering Water Through a World-Class System.”

Hosts: Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke

https://www.snwa.com/

Southern Nevada recycles 100% of the water it uses indoors—extending our limited water supply. For every gallon treated and returned to Lake Mead, we can pull another gallon out of the lake. Kim Adler, Assistant Manager at the Clark County Water Reclamation District, talks about how the “unseen utility” plays a high-profile role in treating and reusing Colorado River water in the valley and provides tips for holiday cooking cleanup on episode 19 of the Water Smarts Podcast, “Down the drain and back again.”

Hosts: Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke

snwa.com

Las Vegas is the fastest warming city in the United States and as temperatures rise, the city’s urban forest of plants and trees will need to weather hotter, drier conditions. Doug Bennett, Conservation Manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), discusses how we can protect our tree canopy and plan for tree succession to help protect the valley’s urban forest, which is essential to helping reduce urban heat island impacts. Hear more on the Water Smarts Podcast, “Trees for Tomorrow—Protecting Las Vegas’ urban forest.”

Hosts:   Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke

snwa.com

Clark County is developing its first sustainability and climate action plan. The All-In Clark County plan focuses on enhancing quality of life, protecting our natural resources and diversifying our economy. Las Vegas is the fastest warming city in the nation, and the impacts of climate change are threatening our water and energy resources and creating other challenges for Southern Nevada. Marci Henson, Clark County’s Director of Environment and Sustainability, discusses the challenges posed by climate change and how the county is preparing on the Water Smarts Podcast, “Clark County is ALL-IN on building a resilient, sustainable community.” 

Located an hour north of Las Vegas, the Warm Springs Natural Area (WSNA) is an oasis in the Mojave Desert that has provided shelter to people and wildlife for centuries. The site has more than two dozen springs that feed into the Muddy River, which flows into Lake Mead. The WSNA is home to 28 endangered, threatened and sensitive species, including the Moapa dace which are found nowhere else in the world but in the WSNA’s warm, spring-fed waters. Zane Marshall, the director of Water Resources for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), talks about why the springs are an important part of Southern Nevada’s watershed, what SNWA is doing to protect the area, and how biologists protect the tiny Moapa dace to ensure their population health on episode 16 of the Water Smarts Podcast.  

Replacing old, splotchy grass at mature properties can provide a facelift and improve customers’ first impression of a business, according to Katherine Harper, a property manager for Gatski Commercial Real Estate. Harper talks about how grass wastes water and money in addition to making a property look old and tired. She has helped several of her clients refresh their properties by upgrading their landscapes to an attractive water-smart alternative. Not only have her clients improved the aesthetics of their properties, but they also are realizing cost savings from lower water bills and landscape maintenance costs. Doug Bennett, the Conservation Manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), joins the conversation to explain how the Water Smart Landscapes rebate can help pay for most, if not all, of the conversion projects on episode 15 of the Water Smarts Podcast, “BUSINESS FACELIFT: Older properties get a refresh through the Water Smart Landscapes rebate.”

Climate change-fueled drought conditions have led the federal government to issue a water shortage declaration on the Colorado River, a move that will reduce the amount of water Southern Nevada will be allowed to withdraw from Lake Mead beginning in January 2022. Combined with existing water reductions outlined in the Drought Contingency Plan, the declared shortage will cut Southern Nevada’s annual water allocation by nearly 7 billion gallons of water next year – enough to serve more than 40,000 Las Vegas Valley households for a year. Colby Pellegrino, Deputy General Manager of Resources for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, joins the Water Smarts Podcast on episode 14 to discuss how Nevada is responding to the first ever federally-declared shortage on the Colorado River.

The City of Las Vegas is world renowned as the Entertainment Capital of the World, but did you know it also is leading the way in creating a sustainable future through its Master Plan 2050? Las Vegas planning expert Marco Velotta joins hosts Bronson Mack and Crystal Zuelke to talk about how Las Vegas is addressing water, energy and climate change issues and ensuring that the city continues to thrive well into the future on episode 13 of the Water Smarts Podcast, “From trees to housing – City of Las Vegas plans for a sustainable future.”

The Nevada Governor recently signed into law Assembly Bill 356 (AB356), which prohibits the use of Colorado River water to irrigate decorative, useless grass in streetscapes, medians, parking lots and other areas where it is used for nonrecreational purposes by the end of 2026.

The law helps the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) advance its conservation goals by essentially requiring this grass to be replaced with water-smart landscapes. SNWA Deputy General Manager of Resources Colby Pellegrino joins the Water Smarts podcast to explain how the new law will help protect 10 percent of Southern Nevada’s Colorado River supply and what properties are targeted. Nevada State Assemblyman Howard Watts and Nevada State Senator Fabian Donate talk about why this new law had broad, bipartisan support and what it means for Nevada on this episode of the Water Smarts podcast. 

WaterStart serves as an innovation hub that brings water utilities and innovators together to test new technologies. From measuring arsenic in groundwater in real-time to finding leaks in the Las Vegas Valley Water District’s 6,500 miles of buried pipes, WaterStart innovators are helping the water industry use technology to solve the nagging challenges that keep utility staff up at night. SNWA Deputy General Manager of Operations Dave Johnson and WaterStart Executive Director Nate Allen share success stories and how WaterStart is supporting the testing and implementation of new technologies on episode 11 of the Water Smarts Podcast, “WaterStart – Finding innovative solutions to water industry challenges.” 

Currently, 40 percent of the Las Vegas Valley gets its water through the South Valley Lateral (SVL) transmission system. While the rest of Southern Nevada’s water transmission laterals have redundant facilities to ensure water delivery in the event of an emergency, the SVL is a single-feed system. In 2017, a leak in the pipeline required the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) to coordinate major repairs with the City of Henderson and Las Vegas Valley Water District to keep water flowing to customers. The SNWA is constructing the Horizon Lateral to work in tandem with the SVL to provide system redundancy and increase reliability to the south part of the valley. Doa Ross, SNWA Deputy General Manager of Engineering, and Adriana Ventimiglia, Senior Program Engineer, talk about the planning and construction of this massive infrastructure project and its impacts on the economy and jobs in Southern Nevada.