WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.040 Ever wonder what really happens behind the scenes 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:05.360 in construction, real estate, and development? 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:08.240 We pull back the curtain on the new home construction 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:11.060 industry, the real estate market, and the trends 00:00:11.060 --> 00:00:14.080 shaping it all. Discover the stories, insights, 00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:16.239 and expertise behind the process of building 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:19.620 a new home. Join us for Trust the Process podcast, 00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:22.519 and let's build something great together. Welcome 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:26.019 back to Trust the Process. podcast where we talk 00:00:26.019 --> 00:00:29.539 about real estate, new home construction, the 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:32.380 housing industry, and everything in between. 00:00:33.140 --> 00:00:37.820 Today, we are going to talk about topic that 00:00:37.820 --> 00:00:40.859 little controversial, especially here in the 00:00:40.859 --> 00:00:45.539 desert, water. So. I know that just stirred a 00:00:45.539 --> 00:00:50.740 lot of people up right away. All builders taking 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:53.539 all the water building so many homes and so wanted 00:00:53.539 --> 00:00:56.240 to do a bit of a deep dive on this just so that 00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:00.679 we could sort of lay the foundation for the awareness 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:03.380 of the water. Obviously there is a conservation 00:01:03.380 --> 00:01:06.019 effort but some of that and then maybe answer 00:01:06.019 --> 00:01:07.819 some of the questions that we get from people 00:01:07.819 --> 00:01:10.340 about water and about building as how it relates 00:01:10.340 --> 00:01:14.209 to water. So I'll let you I'll let you take our 00:01:14.209 --> 00:01:17.709 resident expert. I'll let you take... And this 00:01:17.709 --> 00:01:20.870 is not one I'll claim full expertise on because 00:01:20.870 --> 00:01:23.090 it's a... I mean, there's geologists that study 00:01:23.090 --> 00:01:25.290 this and there's a lot of things that go into 00:01:25.290 --> 00:01:28.310 it. So I don't proclaim to be an expert, but 00:01:28.310 --> 00:01:30.870 it is something that's relevant to the industry 00:01:30.870 --> 00:01:33.409 and it's relevant to being a citizen of the Southwest. 00:01:34.230 --> 00:01:35.689 You know, none of us are probably supposed to 00:01:35.689 --> 00:01:38.109 be here. Yeah. I pretty much took some of the 00:01:38.109 --> 00:01:39.909 most hostile land in the country and said, let's 00:01:39.909 --> 00:01:41.750 put a couple more people. Right. Right. But, 00:01:41.810 --> 00:01:45.010 but we do live here and we are realtors and you've 00:01:45.010 --> 00:01:46.909 been a broker and now you're a builder and you're, 00:01:46.989 --> 00:01:49.849 so you have a perspective that, that overlays 00:01:49.849 --> 00:01:51.390 and we've answered these questions. and have 00:01:51.390 --> 00:01:53.609 these conversations with so many people every 00:01:53.609 --> 00:01:56.290 year as it relates to housing. So while you maybe 00:01:56.290 --> 00:01:58.230 aren't an expert in terms of the geological sense, 00:01:58.250 --> 00:02:00.269 I think in terms of the housing market and the 00:02:00.269 --> 00:02:02.170 Las Vegas trends and what we understand about 00:02:02.170 --> 00:02:03.629 the water conservation. And the greater Southwest, 00:02:03.849 --> 00:02:05.629 yeah. Exactly, I think there's definitely an 00:02:05.629 --> 00:02:07.250 expertise that follows. So you can wear the hat 00:02:07.250 --> 00:02:09.750 on this. Okay, you're right, and I did get grilled 00:02:09.750 --> 00:02:12.330 a lot on this even before I was a builder and 00:02:12.330 --> 00:02:14.830 developer, and now I definitely get grilled on 00:02:14.830 --> 00:02:16.990 it now. But I remember as a broker, people would 00:02:16.990 --> 00:02:19.210 ask, well, were you worried about water? Yes. 00:02:20.539 --> 00:02:22.360 The bottom line is that we're here. We weren't 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:23.680 probably not supposed to be in the middle of 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.939 the Mojave Desert or in the middle of Arizona 00:02:26.939 --> 00:02:28.680 or in the middle of the Inland Empire. A lot 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:31.159 of those, a lot of California's desert and a 00:02:31.159 --> 00:02:34.479 lot of population lives in desert or even arid 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:37.180 climates like Denver. Just really anything west 00:02:37.180 --> 00:02:40.120 of the Mississippi is kind of technically arid. 00:02:40.180 --> 00:02:42.060 I mean, I guess until you get to the Pacific 00:02:42.060 --> 00:02:46.099 Northwest, but a lot of the population that west 00:02:46.099 --> 00:02:47.680 of the Mississippi lives in arid climate. So 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:50.870 water is a huge concern. The bottom line is people 00:02:50.870 --> 00:02:52.509 want to live here. There's a lot of industry, 00:02:52.689 --> 00:02:54.569 there's a lot of economy here, a lot of economic 00:02:54.569 --> 00:02:58.550 activity in these arid climates. So we have the 00:02:58.550 --> 00:03:02.229 infrastructure. We definitely are built accordingly. 00:03:02.689 --> 00:03:05.129 We can handle the development. And I think what 00:03:05.129 --> 00:03:07.610 prompted me to, you know, inspired me to do this 00:03:07.610 --> 00:03:11.129 episode was that every time I see new projects 00:03:11.129 --> 00:03:14.930 approved, especially maybe on social media or... 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:17.979 newspaper, social media account, you'll see. 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:21.159 It's a game I have with myself. I hit the comments. 00:03:21.379 --> 00:03:24.479 I won't scroll past three comments before the 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:26.879 W award comes in. Oh, it's gonna go, you're building 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:28.520 it all. Where are we gonna get all this water 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:31.500 from? Okay, well. And it's a real concern, so 00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:33.129 I mean they have a valid point. I get it. But 00:03:33.129 --> 00:03:36.189 when it's a 300 home, and to get into the weeds, 00:03:36.210 --> 00:03:37.689 and I don't expect everyone to know all these 00:03:37.689 --> 00:03:39.789 statistics, but if people could only realize 00:03:39.789 --> 00:03:42.409 how kind of foolish they look, it's a, let's 00:03:42.409 --> 00:03:45.830 just pretend it's an announcement that it's a 00:03:45.830 --> 00:03:49.770 300 home, or 300 unit apartment complex. Okay. 00:03:49.990 --> 00:03:51.689 Oh, where are they gonna get all this water from? 00:03:52.069 --> 00:03:57.590 Okay. Las Vegas recycles, this sounds hyperbolic, 00:03:58.189 --> 00:04:02.199 99 % of its interior. water usage so you could 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:05.439 run every faucet all day long flush every toilet 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:08.699 consistently and as long as it's hitting a drain 00:04:08.699 --> 00:04:13.500 99 % of it gets recycled back into the water 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:18.459 supply so an apartment complex with 99 % of its 00:04:18.459 --> 00:04:21.220 water use being used indoors maybe a little bit 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:23.160 of desert landscaping in the perimeter and then 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:27.500 99 % of that being recycled That's not where 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:29.300 we need to worry about our water. And the same 00:04:29.300 --> 00:04:32.839 people probably leaving that hate mail are living 00:04:32.839 --> 00:04:35.000 on golf courses with pools in their backyard. 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:37.139 That sounds familiar. That was incriminating. 00:04:38.300 --> 00:04:40.240 You know, they're living, right, much more of 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:43.779 an environmental impact to have just a pool or 00:04:43.779 --> 00:04:46.699 having a yard with grass. And even back to that 00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:49.879 apartment, that's one pool for the three or six 00:04:49.879 --> 00:04:52.699 or 700 people. Yes, exactly. It's a complex of 00:04:52.699 --> 00:04:54.139 300. Exactly. It could be two to four people 00:04:54.139 --> 00:04:57.699 living in each home. Right. Right, and the people 00:04:57.699 --> 00:04:59.379 themselves in that water, you're losing just 00:04:59.379 --> 00:05:01.019 - We have to put one in every backyard. Right, 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:02.360 exactly, right. We have consolidated efforts 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:04.259 in that regard. Right, right. Or when you look 00:05:04.259 --> 00:05:08.480 at a new hotel, hotels on the strip recycle 99 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:11.600 % of their water. The strip, just in general, 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:15.879 only uses about 5 % of the county's, you know, 00:05:16.019 --> 00:05:17.939 the metropolitan area's water. Resource, really? 00:05:18.019 --> 00:05:21.420 Yeah, they only use about 5 % of it. And like 00:05:21.420 --> 00:05:25.540 I said, 99 % of that is indoor. and 99 % of that 00:05:25.540 --> 00:05:29.560 is recycled. So minus the fountain at the Bellagio, 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:32.420 which has its own artesian well, which is how 00:05:32.420 --> 00:05:37.060 they got that approved. They're not resource 00:05:37.060 --> 00:05:39.240 drainers. I mean, they probably use a lot of 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:42.420 power, a lot of AC. But in terms of water, they're 00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:47.500 not big users. So overall, about 60 % of Clark 00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:52.430 County's water is residential. And then approximately 00:05:52.430 --> 00:05:56.910 40 % of that is indoor. So yes, the suburban 00:05:56.910 --> 00:05:59.670 tract home uses a lot of water, uses a lot more 00:05:59.670 --> 00:06:01.829 water than let's say an apartment complex. But 00:06:01.829 --> 00:06:04.129 a newly built suburban tract home with desert 00:06:04.129 --> 00:06:06.990 landscaping and a pool limited to 600 square 00:06:06.990 --> 00:06:09.790 feet of surface area, it's just not a big water 00:06:09.790 --> 00:06:14.730 user. In fact, the top 10 % of residential water 00:06:14.730 --> 00:06:19.149 users use 35 % of the water. So that is a very 00:06:19.149 --> 00:06:22.569 top heavy. The Sultan of Brunei has a home here 00:06:22.569 --> 00:06:26.529 and right around the corner. And he had a 20, 00:06:26.569 --> 00:06:30.029 that house address had a $26 ,000 water usage 00:06:30.029 --> 00:06:32.990 fine because he just uses so much water. So it 00:06:32.990 --> 00:06:35.370 just puts it into perspective. Not even just 00:06:35.370 --> 00:06:38.930 the top 10%, just the top 10 top water users, 00:06:39.230 --> 00:06:43.329 residential water users are using, you know, 00:06:43.569 --> 00:06:47.370 60, 70 % of the water. So of the excess, you 00:06:47.370 --> 00:06:49.709 know, excessive water. So because they're not 00:06:49.709 --> 00:06:52.029 flushing their toilets 10 times more. It's all 00:06:52.029 --> 00:06:54.629 exterior. So they're not only using a lot of 00:06:54.629 --> 00:06:57.250 water, but it's wasting. It's gone. Right. It's 00:06:57.250 --> 00:07:01.529 out of the system. So that's why I wanted to 00:07:01.529 --> 00:07:05.029 talk about it because it just makes me furious 00:07:05.029 --> 00:07:08.589 when people proclaim to be experts on water and 00:07:08.589 --> 00:07:11.709 it's a new 400 unit apartment complex and they 00:07:11.709 --> 00:07:14.750 have, you know, the outrage of where are we going 00:07:14.750 --> 00:07:20.180 to get this water from? Secondly, Our water comes 00:07:20.180 --> 00:07:22.660 from the Colorado River by way of it comes from 00:07:22.660 --> 00:07:25.319 like me by way of the Colorado River and the 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:29.500 Colorado River about 18 % of the Colorado River 00:07:29.500 --> 00:07:33.560 is used in cities and industry and You know everything 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:37.480 that we think of about 52 % of the Colorado River 00:07:37.480 --> 00:07:43.959 goes to agriculture 19 % Just goes to the vegetation 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:46.540 and everything alongside the river that sucks 00:07:46.540 --> 00:07:49.949 up water than all the riparian waves that kind 00:07:49.949 --> 00:07:53.009 of zone, that coastal zone, all that thicket 00:07:53.009 --> 00:07:55.769 and brush and everything that just kind of takes 00:07:55.769 --> 00:08:00.029 water out of the river. That, just the bankside 00:08:00.029 --> 00:08:03.769 growth takes up more than all the households 00:08:03.769 --> 00:08:06.529 and the cities and the industry of the Colorado 00:08:06.529 --> 00:08:10.629 River. 52 % is agriculture. So the fact that 00:08:10.629 --> 00:08:14.209 we grow things in the most arid area of our country 00:08:14.209 --> 00:08:17.370 is just astounding to me. And we could solve 00:08:17.370 --> 00:08:20.129 all the problems if we curbed agriculture in 00:08:20.129 --> 00:08:25.209 the area by 20 % or 10%. And I understand certain 00:08:25.209 --> 00:08:30.790 things just grow better in California. But it's 00:08:30.790 --> 00:08:35.750 just insane to me that we're losing water. We're 00:08:35.750 --> 00:08:37.450 losing technically more, because I said houses 00:08:37.450 --> 00:08:40.289 and industry and cities are 18%. The riparian 00:08:40.289 --> 00:08:45.840 vegetation is 19%. Evaporation alone is 11 percent. 00:08:45.940 --> 00:08:49.200 It just evaporates 11 percent I mean that's more 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:51.299 than half of what we're using in the households 00:08:51.299 --> 00:08:55.500 and the cities in the industry so It's it's pretty 00:08:55.500 --> 00:08:58.240 wild and then when you look at agriculture and 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:01.279 break it down The growth crops like the wheat 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:03.379 and the cotton and all those things are only 00:09:03.379 --> 00:09:06.200 20 percent not 20 percent of the 52 percent but 00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:10.000 20 percent of the water and then cattle feed 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:14.179 32%. So keeping cattle and feeding them, that's 00:09:14.179 --> 00:09:18.580 32 % of the Colorado River goes to cattle in 00:09:18.580 --> 00:09:20.379 some way indirectly through their feed or through 00:09:20.379 --> 00:09:23.200 what they're drinking. So it's just, that is 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:25.399 just... But that's a resource that we need too, 00:09:25.500 --> 00:09:28.960 right? We need the... But that's movable. I mean, 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:31.759 that could be done anywhere, is my argument. 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:34.379 We can't move Las Vegas. We can't move the Inland 00:09:34.379 --> 00:09:37.220 Empire, or LA for that matter. We can't move 00:09:37.220 --> 00:09:40.340 those cities, but we could move some of that. 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:44.019 It just kills me that when we see a new development, 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:46.639 the first thing we say is water, but because 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:48.440 we're so sheltered and a lot of people that are 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:50.860 making those comments, we're living in suburban 00:09:50.860 --> 00:09:54.159 America or suburban Southwest and just... Not 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:57.440 realizing that agriculture is taking up three 00:09:57.440 --> 00:10:00.340 times what the entire city is or every city that 00:10:00.340 --> 00:10:03.240 gets water from the Colorado River So that part 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:05.340 is wild to me and it's those statistics that 00:10:05.340 --> 00:10:08.860 just make me crazy They just really really make 00:10:08.860 --> 00:10:10.799 my blood boil and I can actually even think of 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:13.960 a couple of situations where as Builders come 00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:16.899 in and as the city continues to expand it's helping 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:20.580 the water situation. I know there's Golf courses 00:10:20.580 --> 00:10:22.679 that have gone down and then builders buy them 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:25.600 and develop that golf course significantly less 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:28.019 water on that as a fraction fraction fraction 00:10:28.019 --> 00:10:30.740 of it and then if you think about as the city 00:10:30.740 --> 00:10:33.240 Develops and grows at least Las Vegas and I'm 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:36.159 sure other Southwest areas because it were a 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:38.259 city of extreme We're super dry and then we'll 00:10:38.259 --> 00:10:40.019 just pour for three days and the water is nowhere 00:10:40.019 --> 00:10:43.059 to go the flood So most of these cities, but 00:10:43.059 --> 00:10:45.669 especially Las Vegas because we route it all 00:10:45.669 --> 00:10:48.789 back to Lake Mead. So we're just directly going 00:10:48.789 --> 00:10:51.870 back to the Colorado River. We're routing it 00:10:51.870 --> 00:10:53.730 all back there, whereas it may have just gone 00:10:53.730 --> 00:10:57.019 into the groundwater or just kind of been. lost. 00:10:57.220 --> 00:10:59.740 Yeah. And so the big water channel under all 00:10:59.740 --> 00:11:02.080 the roads and as building and development happens 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:05.080 in the city and it continues to fill out, those 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:08.100 water channels are actually securing that resource 00:11:08.100 --> 00:11:10.240 and making sure that it's continued. It's controlled. 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:12.399 Yeah, it's controlling it. And now we're able 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:15.860 to track it. And so although yes, that new subdivision 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:18.440 of 10 ,000 houses that went up over the last 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:21.320 five years, it might appear that look at all 00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:24.009 the water there. Well, Inside every one of those 00:11:24.009 --> 00:11:26.090 homes 99 % of that water is being reused. So 00:11:26.090 --> 00:11:29.309 that's not even an argument And then everything's 00:11:29.309 --> 00:11:31.470 desert landscaping now and all the new construction 00:11:31.470 --> 00:11:33.870 stuff, which is drip irrigation It drips. Yeah 00:11:33.870 --> 00:11:37.350 drips water for 15 minutes literally a drip Yeah, 00:11:37.710 --> 00:11:40.549 so I mean, it's it's a flimsy argument at best 00:11:40.549 --> 00:11:43.750 and it just it just makes me crazy so and then 00:11:43.750 --> 00:11:45.990 another thing that I think is very encouraging 00:11:45.990 --> 00:11:51.879 is that we've grown by 786 ,000 people in the 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:55.019 last 20 years as a as a metro area almost a million 00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:57.320 three -quarters of a million people grown since 00:11:57.320 --> 00:12:01.639 2002 and we actually Decreased our overall usage 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:05.419 by 26 percent per capita. We dropped it by 58 00:12:05.419 --> 00:12:09.940 percent the average person in 2024 versus or 00:12:09.940 --> 00:12:13.399 2025 versus 2003 is Using less than half the 00:12:13.399 --> 00:12:15.620 water if you count homes don't have ornamental 00:12:15.620 --> 00:12:18.159 grass anymore. Yes pools have gotten smaller 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:22.090 and Just in general, we're more water smart toilets 00:12:22.409 --> 00:12:24.850 flush using less water. Awareness. Awareness. 00:12:25.169 --> 00:12:27.129 And the water district has done a whole movement 00:12:27.129 --> 00:12:29.029 to try and keep awareness and put it front of 00:12:29.029 --> 00:12:31.149 mind and they were paying people to take out 00:12:31.149 --> 00:12:32.769 all the grass that they had around their home 00:12:32.769 --> 00:12:35.009 and put in the desert landscape and so all of 00:12:35.009 --> 00:12:37.870 those efforts, wow that's a big number. It's 00:12:37.870 --> 00:12:43.350 interesting, we're using 75 % of the water that 00:12:43.350 --> 00:12:45.169 we were using 20 years ago and we grew by three 00:12:45.169 --> 00:12:46.169 quarters of a million people. That's good news, 00:12:46.289 --> 00:12:48.269 that's great. So it shows you that growth does 00:12:48.269 --> 00:12:50.669 not equal more water usage. You're responsible. 00:12:50.990 --> 00:12:53.149 water management is what equals more water usage. 00:12:53.809 --> 00:12:56.370 Agriculture in an arid, dry climate equals water 00:12:56.370 --> 00:12:58.789 usage. So as long as we know what we're dealing 00:12:58.789 --> 00:13:00.850 with, I'm not advocating to get rid of every 00:13:00.850 --> 00:13:02.570 farm west of the Mississippi. I'm just saying 00:13:02.570 --> 00:13:05.190 we have to acknowledge that the Colorado River 00:13:05.190 --> 00:13:08.090 is an agricultural water supply more than it 00:13:08.090 --> 00:13:11.309 is anything else. And then after that, it's its 00:13:11.309 --> 00:13:14.269 own vegetation, then every city on the Colorado 00:13:14.269 --> 00:13:17.529 River, and then evaporation. It's just crazy 00:13:17.529 --> 00:13:20.330 to me that that's where the water goes. And while, 00:13:20.529 --> 00:13:23.269 yes, we have a limited resource here, Colorado 00:13:23.269 --> 00:13:25.889 River refills itself each year. Yeah, there's 00:13:25.889 --> 00:13:28.330 watershed. Right. So it isn't like it's, you 00:13:28.330 --> 00:13:29.929 know, a pond that we're pulling from that's going 00:13:29.929 --> 00:13:33.600 to run out one day. I mean, as long as we have 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:36.299 snow on the western Rockies. We're not getting 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:38.080 the snowfall here that would accommodate that 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:40.899 in an annual basis, but they are. And so keeping 00:13:40.899 --> 00:13:43.919 in mind that our resource is refilling itself 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:46.480 each year. The watershed of the Colorado River 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:48.159 is massive. If you look at it in terms of the 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:50.659 swath of land, when they spread it out and you 00:13:50.659 --> 00:13:52.799 realize all the mountain slopes and ranges and 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:56.100 everything that just kind of feeds into it, really... 00:13:55.799 --> 00:13:58.559 I mean, I can see where three or four years of 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:00.480 bad snowfall and all those things and plus growth 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:03.519 of the sunbelt states. I get it. I understand. 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:05.139 Still in air climate. We're still in the drought. 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:08.590 Yes, it's desert. And then when people, specifically 00:14:08.590 --> 00:14:10.549 in Las Vegas, look at Lake Mead and say, oh, 00:14:10.610 --> 00:14:13.230 because it is about 180 feet lower than it was 00:14:13.230 --> 00:14:15.330 since it was created. Can't get my boat in, the 00:14:15.330 --> 00:14:19.049 ducks are high. But a lot of it is, if we've 00:14:19.049 --> 00:14:21.789 stopped the flow, I mean, we can control that, 00:14:21.789 --> 00:14:24.409 right? I mean, if we renegotiated that, which 00:14:24.409 --> 00:14:26.909 brings me to my next point, if we renegotiated 00:14:26.909 --> 00:14:29.210 that as a bigger city, which we should have more 00:14:29.210 --> 00:14:32.590 power, we'd be able to allow that reservoir to 00:14:32.590 --> 00:14:36.519 keep up. The Hoover Dam generates power for millions 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:39.659 of people in California, and they have a vested 00:14:39.659 --> 00:14:42.179 interest in us keeping that dam flowing. I mean, 00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:45.299 if it becomes Deadpool, it doesn't matter. I 00:14:45.299 --> 00:14:47.720 mean, no one in California is going to care about 00:14:47.720 --> 00:14:49.580 the ornamental grass anymore if they realize, 00:14:49.659 --> 00:14:51.779 oh, we're not getting water. And that grit, we 00:14:51.779 --> 00:14:53.419 know that grit has a lot of problems as it is. 00:14:53.500 --> 00:14:55.320 We don't own all of the rights to the Colorado 00:14:55.320 --> 00:14:57.600 River, so how is that divided and what amongst 00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:59.879 that do we get? I was so hoping you'd bring up 00:14:59.879 --> 00:15:03.759 some history. I see, I was just here to help, 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:07.740 give you a little history, I like it. So 1922, 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:10.679 Colorado River Pact. So basically all the states, 00:15:11.220 --> 00:15:12.840 I think they were all states by that point, yeah, 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:15.059 they were all states by that point, got together, 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:16.600 the upper basin and the lower basin, I think 00:15:16.600 --> 00:15:20.779 it's eight states, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, California, 00:15:21.220 --> 00:15:25.200 Nevada, maybe Wyoming, I can't remember. And 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:28.159 then it also spills into, there's a... Delta 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:31.340 and Mexico. So we also have to have discussions 00:15:31.340 --> 00:15:34.600 with Mexico too, in terms of what we're taking 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:38.700 out of it. They also, so 1922, they came together 00:15:38.700 --> 00:15:40.320 and said, this is how many acre feet you're gonna 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:41.960 get, this is how many acre feet you're gonna 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:46.519 get. For reference, in 1922, California as an 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:49.179 entire state was 3 .4 million people, as an entire 00:15:49.179 --> 00:15:53.159 state. And now it's 40 million people. Nevada 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:58.019 was 80 ,000 people. More people live in a master 00:15:58.019 --> 00:16:01.080 plan community than that. Right now, Nevada's 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:03.659 population is 3 .4 million. So we're almost the 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:07.200 size California was 100 years ago. So when they 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:10.080 were negotiating that, and by the way, agriculture 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:12.779 plus farming was more local, more of a local 00:16:12.779 --> 00:16:14.720 business. So the concept of not having farming 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:17.039 in their state was just anathema. We would not 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:19.080 even think about it. It's like telling us we've 00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:20.659 got to go get water from the well down the street. 00:16:20.899 --> 00:16:23.159 No, of course I'm going to have farms in my city, 00:16:23.340 --> 00:16:25.460 area of my state. They didn't even consider about 00:16:25.460 --> 00:16:26.799 the sustainability of it. Are we going to be 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:29.220 able to continue to grow almonds and cashews 00:16:29.220 --> 00:16:31.200 and things that take up a lot of water, those 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:34.639 types of cash crops? I mean, if we had to redesign 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:36.399 it today, would we probably have thought, yeah, 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:38.580 that seems like a really good idea? No, probably 00:16:38.580 --> 00:16:42.059 not. We have a lot of livestock and cattle in 00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:44.960 California, probably not. It's very water intensive 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:48.019 industries in agriculture. So I think that when 00:16:48.019 --> 00:16:53.259 we first looked at that 103 years ago, Just looked 00:16:53.259 --> 00:16:55.220 a lot different and I don't think a lot of people 00:16:55.220 --> 00:16:57.200 predicted the growth that we have in another 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:01.960 little Knife jab is that they they think they 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:03.720 overestimated the flow of the Colorado River 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:07.279 by about I think 10 % At the time. Yeah, so they 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:09.380 were overestimating how much water there was 00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:11.380 because it just didn't have the GPS and the technology 00:17:11.380 --> 00:17:14.200 to even figure it and The data to go back a hundred 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:16.220 years and say well over a hundred years How much 00:17:16.220 --> 00:17:18.119 what are we just not in a drought right now and 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:21.410 we're figuring all this out So that agreement 00:17:21.410 --> 00:17:26.049 is expiring December 31st 2026 and the feds are 00:17:26.049 --> 00:17:27.250 probably gonna have to step in because these 00:17:27.250 --> 00:17:29.789 states will not they can't agree Colorado all 00:17:29.789 --> 00:17:32.910 the upper basin states The water is flowing there. 00:17:32.910 --> 00:17:35.089 I mean that's coming from there. I mean it comes 00:17:35.089 --> 00:17:37.349 from you know from not just the upper basin states, 00:17:37.390 --> 00:17:40.910 but They they don't want to give it up. They 00:17:40.910 --> 00:17:42.769 they they don't want to lose any of it Denver 00:17:42.769 --> 00:17:44.750 doesn't want to lose its ornamental grass But 00:17:44.750 --> 00:17:47.329 that's just as much a desert arguably as Las 00:17:47.329 --> 00:17:50.789 Vegas It just is snowy, so you don't think of 00:17:50.789 --> 00:17:54.430 it as a desert, but it's a very arid climate. 00:17:54.769 --> 00:17:56.150 They probably shouldn't have ornamental grass 00:17:56.150 --> 00:17:58.789 there, right? So they don't want to lose it, 00:17:58.849 --> 00:18:00.170 and they don't want to be water smart. And they 00:18:00.170 --> 00:18:02.230 also don't have the infrastructure. Las Vegas 00:18:02.230 --> 00:18:05.029 is one of the top 10 most water smart cities 00:18:05.029 --> 00:18:08.670 in the world. It's like us, Tel Aviv, Singapore. 00:18:09.210 --> 00:18:12.509 I mean, we're a big player on that front. You're 00:18:12.509 --> 00:18:13.789 idly enough in New York City, but again, New 00:18:13.789 --> 00:18:15.410 York City doesn't have a lot of landscape vegetation. 00:18:15.569 --> 00:18:17.089 They don't have a lot of exterior irrigation. 00:18:17.630 --> 00:18:19.529 So as long as they're recycling, it doesn't surprise 00:18:19.529 --> 00:18:21.650 me per capita that they are pretty water smart. 00:18:22.950 --> 00:18:26.470 But these other Sunbelt cities don't have the 00:18:26.470 --> 00:18:30.029 infrastructure that we have. And you look at 00:18:30.029 --> 00:18:34.240 other... States even you say Louisiana has an 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:36.680 initiative to not flush your toilet Why Louisiana 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:38.960 is all water, but they don't have the infrastructure 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:41.279 to recycle so they're using these reservoirs 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:43.359 and they say we We just filter our sewage and 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:47.119 put it back in the ground water, right? So Vegas 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:49.319 so much water that it's been a problem then it's 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:52.200 a problem on the other And I would actually direct 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:54.200 some of our viewers to Southern Nevada Water 00:18:54.200 --> 00:18:56.359 Authority has a wonderful YouTube channel. They 00:18:56.359 --> 00:18:59.299 really do, so yes. The content is top notch and 00:18:59.299 --> 00:19:03.289 the scientists there are very... They put it 00:19:03.289 --> 00:19:06.130 in a very palatable and they'll be able to speak 00:19:06.130 --> 00:19:08.369 to the specifics of the data more than I could. 00:19:08.849 --> 00:19:10.630 And it puts your mind at ease when you see some 00:19:10.630 --> 00:19:12.730 of those resources and you see what's going into 00:19:12.730 --> 00:19:14.569 the Southern Nevada Water Authority and how hard 00:19:14.569 --> 00:19:16.509 they're working to make it. There is a peace 00:19:16.509 --> 00:19:18.390 of mind that comes when you start to inform yourself 00:19:18.390 --> 00:19:20.730 about that stuff because the rhetoric is, ah, 00:19:20.829 --> 00:19:22.589 the water. Oh, you take a drive to Lake Mead 00:19:22.589 --> 00:19:24.069 and you look at the bathtub rings and you go, 00:19:24.150 --> 00:19:26.750 oh, we're screwed. Yes, yes, but then you look 00:19:26.750 --> 00:19:28.789 at it from the other side and what is happening 00:19:28.789 --> 00:19:30.730 and then there's a really hopeful spirit that's 00:19:30.730 --> 00:19:35.210 happening on that front that isn't as catastrophic 00:19:35.210 --> 00:19:38.029 as some people might believe. Oh, no. We have 00:19:38.029 --> 00:19:40.869 tens of millions of people that occupy this, 00:19:40.869 --> 00:19:43.369 this zone of the country, and it is not going 00:19:43.369 --> 00:19:45.829 to be politically popular to let this part of 00:19:45.829 --> 00:19:48.009 the country dry up. Right. Right. It's just not 00:19:48.009 --> 00:19:51.009 there. And what else is heartwarming about it 00:19:51.009 --> 00:19:53.220 is that All of us along that Colorado River, 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:55.339 although we can't agree on who gets what, we 00:19:55.339 --> 00:19:58.579 all have a vested interest in, uh, you know, 00:19:58.700 --> 00:20:02.079 keeping the river sustainable and keeping us, 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:04.539 I've accessed everything. In fact, I know that 00:20:04.539 --> 00:20:08.720 Southern Nevada water authority invests in desalination 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:11.339 and reconstitution, you know, water filtration 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:16.319 places or plants in San Diego and other municipalities 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:18.880 in California. And then every dollar that they 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:22.089 spend there, they get the equivalent. Colorado 00:20:22.089 --> 00:20:24.950 River so we're basically will help you become 00:20:24.950 --> 00:20:27.750 more water smart we'll invest there so that we 00:20:27.750 --> 00:20:30.190 can get more water we can get more of an allocation 00:20:30.190 --> 00:20:34.549 from the Colorado River yeah exactly and it's 00:20:34.549 --> 00:20:37.210 kind of a heartwarming interesting thing to watch 00:20:37.210 --> 00:20:40.009 and then people you know as a side note what 00:20:40.009 --> 00:20:42.230 about desalination the best thing you can do 00:20:42.230 --> 00:20:44.369 is reuse the water you already have right it's 00:20:44.369 --> 00:20:47.630 potable water it's now sewage but you can clean 00:20:47.630 --> 00:20:50.400 it up and it's potable water again Disgusting 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:52.859 thought but makes me want to have some water 00:20:52.859 --> 00:20:56.700 But the best thing, you know, that's the that's 00:20:56.700 --> 00:20:59.940 the low -hanging fruit Second would be wells 00:20:59.940 --> 00:21:03.240 Third would be desalination But an interesting 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:05.980 statistic is that it's estimated it talked it 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:10.799 costs about six times per gallon six times Wholesale 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:13.920 wholesale cost of water to desalinate that same 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:17.359 gallon of water So it just it's cost prohibitive 00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:19.319 now. That's why you're not really seeing it I 00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:21.759 know Tel Aviv is and Israel is just as Israel 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:25.559 as a country has a lot of desalination Efforts 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:27.839 because you know where they're at they are technically 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:29.380 the desert, but they're right there by the sea 00:21:29.380 --> 00:21:32.180 So it makes sense to desalinate. It's right there 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:34.880 and if they can harness energy a lot of the cost 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:38.039 come from energy as solar panels become more 00:21:38.039 --> 00:21:39.819 efficient. I mean, one might see some innovations 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:42.819 there where it goes from six times multiplier 00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:45.000 to three times, but then maybe the whole salt 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.220 value of water goes up, so then - And by desalinate, 00:21:47.339 --> 00:21:50.660 you mean take the salted water and turn it into 00:21:50.660 --> 00:21:53.839 a usable resource. All right, it becomes potable 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:55.720 at that point. So, I mean, there's a lot, there 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:57.720 are some environmental concerns that people worry 00:21:57.720 --> 00:21:59.359 about to say, well, now you have all this extra 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:01.819 salt, and you get kind of brackish brine water 00:22:01.819 --> 00:22:04.440 here that you're pumping back into the ocean. 00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:07.720 taking the good water. So where's the salt's 00:22:07.720 --> 00:22:10.180 got to go somewhere? So there's other concerns. 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:13.519 It's not foolproof and it's expensive, but that's 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:18.220 an option. But it is kind of tantalizing to see 00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:20.720 how much water really is close to us. You know, 00:22:20.759 --> 00:22:22.119 you have a couple hundred mile radius. You think, 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:24.680 well, can't you just put a pipeline in and, you 00:22:24.680 --> 00:22:26.180 know, desalinate it and then just pipe it in? 00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:26.779 I know. There are people that think that from 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:28.779 California. Bring it from the ocean. Yeah. Right. 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:30.579 And I think that's smart that they say, okay, 00:22:31.019 --> 00:22:33.920 well, can we just, I know Phoenix looked at that. 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:37.339 and it became cost prohibitive, but it made more 00:22:37.339 --> 00:22:41.039 sense to pay for a desalination plant in Mexico 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:45.099 and then let them use that water and then keep 00:22:45.099 --> 00:22:47.079 more of the flow from the Colorado River, like 00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:49.559 we're doing in California. So there's a lot of 00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:52.980 different ways around it. It'll be fine. Ultimately, 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:55.640 seeing single -family homes pop up in the desert 00:22:55.640 --> 00:22:57.339 is not going to... It's not gonna be the end 00:22:57.339 --> 00:22:59.680 of our water use. It's just not how it works. 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:02.339 So we could put some people's mind to rest with 00:23:02.339 --> 00:23:05.380 that. Yes, builders are definitely doing great 00:23:05.380 --> 00:23:07.839 things for the valley and not taking our only 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:10.019 nice resource. And newcomers are not taking. 00:23:10.099 --> 00:23:12.400 It's not a zero -sum game. And maybe as California 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:15.200 grows into those agricultural lands in the Central 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:17.799 Valley and some of those farms, I would have 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:19.740 to look up the numbers on that, but is the farming 00:23:19.740 --> 00:23:21.559 footprint in California getting bigger or smaller? 00:23:22.119 --> 00:23:24.700 As that land gets more valuable outside maybe 00:23:24.700 --> 00:23:27.470 Modesto and kind of those... Inlanders or Central 00:23:27.470 --> 00:23:30.710 Valley places as those get sold out for development. 00:23:31.650 --> 00:23:35.990 That's if you took 500 acres of cattle ranch 00:23:35.990 --> 00:23:39.789 and made at homes that's 20 times more water 00:23:39.789 --> 00:23:42.849 smart than having the cattle there. So and that 00:23:42.849 --> 00:23:44.549 farm maybe goes somewhere. That's a little bit 00:23:44.549 --> 00:23:50.400 easier to manage in terms of the water so It's 00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:52.660 an unfolding situation, which always makes the 00:23:52.660 --> 00:23:54.559 best content. It's interesting, and it's a hot 00:23:54.559 --> 00:23:56.200 button issue. People are very passionate about 00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:58.460 it. It really is. So I'm glad we addressed it. 00:23:58.579 --> 00:24:01.400 Glad we took some, and a good little history 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:04.740 lesson in that too, so. I got it in there. It 00:24:04.740 --> 00:24:06.200 only went back 100 years. I wanted to go more. 00:24:06.579 --> 00:24:08.799 I knew you'd find a way. Talk about geology. 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:12.440 Lake Cambrian era or something. That's funny. 00:24:12.900 --> 00:24:15.180 Well, thank you for joining us Hopefully we were 00:24:15.180 --> 00:24:16.779 able to put your mind at ease and you have a 00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:19.019 better understanding of water as a resource and 00:24:19.019 --> 00:24:21.160 how it's being used here in the valley and again 00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:23.680 that Southern Nevada Water Authority is a great 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:25.599 place to inform yourself if you are looking for 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:28.440 more information. I think it's smwa .com. Okay. 00:24:28.700 --> 00:24:31.859 Great. Great. All right. Thanks for joining us 00:24:31.859 --> 00:24:34.819 for another episode of trust the process Podcast 00:24:34.819 --> 00:24:36.579 and we will look forward to seeing you again 00:24:36.579 --> 00:24:40.680 next time. Thanks Bye -bye. Thanks for tuning 00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:43.240 into the Press the Process podcast. Make sure 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:45.640 to follow us on Spotify to stay in the loop with 00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:48.440 the latest insights, project updates, and everything 00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:50.200 in between. See you next time.