There is a great article that The Las Vegas Sun put out today about Pat Mulroy and the SNWA. You can read it here. The article goes into great detail how Pat and SNWA got to where we are today. Good history and good takes on what is happening here in Vegas on the water situation.

Whatever your opinion on growth, the importance of Pat Mulroy on the the Las Vegas real estate market and the Vegas economy in general is paramount. She dominates the discussion when it comes to water allocation and the water battles that loom over the Southwest United States. Time and time again, she has shown she is the brightest of the bunch and is flat out smarter than everyone else in the mix.

A lot of this comes because she is a visionary. She sees trends and issues way before they become trends and issues to everyone else. Because of this, just like a good chess player, professional athlete, etc, she seems to be in the right place at the right time - ALL the time. This is not luck or by chance. She knows what she is doing.

Potable water issues here in Vegas are one of the two most important factors to the real estate market. The other being lack of available land and its subsequent land planning. Water and land are the two main resources that are in a very limited supply here in Las Vegas. They are the most important aspects to the future and the future of Las Vegas of becoming a world -class city.

ANTI-GROWTHERS
The anti-growth folks would claim she is part of the problem and should be reprimanded for her work on securing our financial and future health here in the Valley. I say those folks need to consider more than just themselves and their immediate surroundings. Their NIMBY mentality has caused so much hardship and turmoil to how Las Vegas has been built that it just might be unrepairable. Their “I’ve got mine and screw everyone else” mantra has caused our city to grow in a manner that makes no sense. Because of this we have a hodge-podge of development with no inter-connectivity and no method to the madness.

The people who want to so dearly cling to the past by stunting the future growth of a city/community are missing one key point in their argument. Growth is why they have everything they have in their lives. Without smart and intelligent growth, our country would not be the US we love today. Instead of fighting growth, it would be more intelligent and a much better outcome to embrace it and control it.

OTHER STATES
When you look at the water usage of southern Nevada in comparison to the other states using water out of the Colorado River system, you quickly see how incredible we have been in stretching our resources. We have only 300,000 acre-feet of water where California and Arizona have nearly 10 times that amount. Las Vegas is growing their economy and actually using less water (in total and per capita) then they did 10 years ago. Think about that…less water with tons more people. Now that is the definition of conservation and smart growth.

No where else in the country (with maybe the exception of Tucson, AZ) can compare with the water conservation and usage restrictions that exist right here in Las Vegas. Much of this is due to the strict adherence of water restrictions and water development regulations. Pat Mulroy and SNWA have walked the walk when it comes to acquiring water assets for the betterment of society. She is not acquiring water and simply wasting it. She is forcing our development community (which I am a part of) to use the water in the best possible fashion. If any other States (or even northern Nevada) want to complain about Las Vegas and Pat Mulroy trying to “steal” their water, they should at least have the decency to look at the entire equation of what she is doing.

IN CONCLUSION
I firmly believe Pat Mulroy is great for Nevada and great for Las Vegas.  More importantly she is the very best advocate for the Las Vegas real estate community.  She ensures that all of investment that is being spent on The Strip and in the valley is being protected from unreasonable naysayers.  This is not her job and she would be the first person to say this.  However, that is irrelevant to me and my cohorts in the business.  We live on growth, a strong economy, good rules on gaming, and smart government.  Pat’s policies and actions, along with SNWA’s work on securing our future, are some of the most important assets we have.