Boulder City Departments
- Public Works

The SNWA recommends watering grass areas three times per day, four minutes each watering.

If you have questions regarding the watering schedule, call Conservation Specialist Skip Spilman
at 293-9229 or 293-9200.

Copies of the complete Boulder City Drought Plan are available through the City Clerk's office. Call 293-9208.

The SNWA Board of Directors elevated the valley's drought status from Drought Watch to Drought Alert, effective January 1, 2004. New restrictions are in effect as a result of the change.

New Restrictions Under Drought Alert:
Use commercial car washes that capture and recycle water or use mobile car washes that use less than 10 gallons of water per vehicle. Also allowed is the use of a commercial high-pressure, low-volume sprayer that uses less than 10 gallons of water per vehicle.

Grass prohibited or restricted in new residential front yards and limited to 50% of back and side yards where permits were issued after January 1, 2004. Turf is also restricted at commercial and multi-family developments. Planting of cool-season grasses (tall fescue) is prohibited May through August.

A reminder: Avoid water waste. Make sure to water only on your assigned day and don't allow water to spray or run off of your property. Water waste fees can be assessed and are based on meter size and double with each violation.

Even with higher-than-usual amounts of rainfall in the Las Vegas Valley, Lake Mead's water level continues to drop. The lake's level is determined by runoff from the Rocky Mountains. This runoff feeds the Colorado River that fills Lake Mead.

The past few years have yielded less snow falling on the Rockies and less runoff to the Colorado River, causing Lake Mead to drop more than 70 feet. To significantly raise current lake levels, the Rocky Mountains need several years of above-average runoff.

Drought watering restrictions:
Assigned watering groups are mandatory for all customers. Using sprinklers on days other than those assigned to you is considered water waste and may result in a waster-waste fee or citation

From May 1 until October 1, time-of-day watering restrictions prohibit watering from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Exceptions to both time-of-day and assigned group watering restrictions are hand watering, supervised testing of your sprinkler system and watering new landscapes for 30 days.

Drip watering is permitted any day of the week. However, the number of days per week cannot exceed the number of days allowed for sprinkler watering.

Sprinkler tips:
For each assigned day, the SNWA recommends watering your lawn 3 times a day, 4 minutes each watering.

Schedule sprinklers to water in three short cycles, each about one hour apart, rather than one longer cycle. For rotating sprinklers, visit snwa.com.

Bermuda and other warm-season grasses require about one-third less water than tall fescue grass.

Don't water on windy days.

Regularly check your irrigation system for broken or misaligned sprinkler heads and drip emitters. Check weekly in the summer and monthly in the winter.

Drip irrigation tips:
Drip irrigation is usually needed less frequently than sprinkler irrigation. The SNWA recommends a single drip cycle one day per week in winter, two days a week in spring and fall, and three days a week in summer.