LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — New drought monitoring studies show that there have been key improvements to the drought crisis in the Las Vegas Valley, though water levels are still drastically low.
How people — and wildlife, experts say — use water in the Las Vegas Valley in many ways, most of which involve some sort of conservation.
Experts say these conservation methods have been part of valley residents' lives for a while, and will likely be here far into the future as well.
Las Vegas resident Vitalina Patten says she and her husband are consistently trying to save water.
"We don't need to wash clothes that often. We use a lot of bottled water as well," she told KTNV.
Patten is originally from Boston and lives in New England for six months out of the year. While she's in Las Vegas, she understands how dry our desert has become and the dire need for water.
"Lake Mead will hopefully go up a bit more because it's been low for a long time. It's a bit troublesome," Patten said.
While recent rains and snow have improved the situation, Clark County now stands in the "severe drought" category," which is a significant improvement from "extreme drought" one year ago.
It's a change that's bringing a guarded optimism to many living in the valley.
"I've been optimistic when I look at the drought maps," says Rebecca Mitchell, the Director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. "But it's important to recognize March and April are the real telling months."
As the west waits and hopes for more precipitation, she says it's important to hold ourselves and others' conservation accountable.
"For example, washing your car — maybe don't do it in the middle of the day when it's hot and it evaporates quicker," Mitchell said. "Make sure you're doing it in the most efficient way possible. Choose car washes that recycle and that sort of thing."
Mitchell says the focus remains on refilling the twin reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and making sure people are always saving for many not-so-rainy days in the future.
