Utilities director outlines state of compliance

In scheduling that some might call ironic, immediately after approving a plan that would see the Municipal Golf Course continue to use 20% more water than allowed by law, the city council heard a presentation from Utilities Director Joseph Stubitz in which he outlined just how serious the drought is and how the city is working to comply with state law by removing turf from city parks and from areas surrounding city buildings.

The law Stubitz was referencing is AB356, which was passed in 2021, and says that businesses, cities, apartment owners and HOAs (pretty much every entity except for private homeowners) had to remove turf deemed to be “non-functional” by Jan. 1, 2027. Actually, to be exact, the law does not say anyone has to remove the turf. It just makes it illegal to use water from the Colorado River to irrigate those areas. Since virtually all of the water used in Southern Nevada comes from the river, it amounts to the same thing. If it is not deemed as functional, then it needs to go.

Stubitz reported that the driver for these changes is drought. The Colorado River Basin, which stretches across seven states and into northern Mexico, has been in a period of prolonged drought since 2000. It is one of the driest periods in more than a century. He also noted that Lake Mead is significantly below its historic average in terms of depth to the point where it is posing a risk to both water supplies and hydropower generation.

He said that Boulder City is preparing to comply with AB356 by removing non-functional turf in various areas of the city. This includes most of the parks as well as turf in front of City Hall, the parks and recreation building and police headquarters.

Most of the removal in parks tends to be in perimeters around parks and the removal of turf in parkways between sidewalks and the street. Stubitz noted that the city has requested waivers from some of the law’s requirements and that work on turf removal in city parks is ongoing.