LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nearly 60,000 Southern Nevada residents were hit with new excessive use charges on their water bills over the past 6 months, totaling more than $12 million.
According to the Las Vegas Valley Water District, these charges are meant to address the top ten percent of residential water users in our valley. It's a nudge to try to get those customers to conserve water and fix leaks on their property.
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The new fees were approved by the Las Vegas Valley Water District's Board of Directors last fall.
The water district says a surcharge of $9 is added to every thousand gallons of water used beyond the set water threshold. 90 percent of Las Vegas residents don't hit that threshold, according to the LVVWD.
In total, between January and June of this year, data shows LVVWD sent 140,000 excessive use fees to nearly 60,000 thousand customers. It adds up to nearly $12.8 million.
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Some of those customers were at Tuesday’s County Commission meeting to voice their concerns about the bill. Some claim it unfairly targets residents on larger lots.
“If this is all in the spirit of preserving water, water conservation, you’re going to do it at the expense of the quality of life, the air quality, the uniqueness of our neighborhoods,” said Tara Anderson. “This just appears irreverent to some of our next historic neighborhoods. I ask that you be more thoughtful.”
"I’ve actually reduced my consumption by 30 percent from last year, and I still have a bill that is over 800 dollars. More than half of that was excessive fees. The excessive fee is actually more than the commodity of water,” said Yvette Williams.
According to LVVWD, a lot of the homes hit with overuse fees have unresolved leaks, large amounts of grass, turf that's inefficiently watered, or are customers are not following the water schedule.
