As I am writing this column, spring will arrive. For Nevada residents, 55,000 of whom work for MGM Resorts International, the new season follows the warmest winter on record, according to Michael Gulich, Vice President of Sustainability at MGM Resorts.
Las Vegas, which gets nearly 90 percent of its water from Lake Mead and only four to five inches of rain annually, incentivizes residents to conserve. One example is a Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) cash for grass program that pays homeowners from $5 to $7 per square foot to remove turfgrass and replace it with desert-friendly landscaping—native plants and/or artificial turf.
“For Southern Nevada the biggest consumptive water use is landscape irrigation—driven by the residential sector,” Gulich explained.
Two years ago, on World Water Day, MGM Resorts announced a $500,000 grant—toward water conservation rebates for MGM Resorts employees—to assist SNWA with its efforts. MGM Resorts employees, for example, get an extra dollar per square foot to replace natural grass. So far, there have been more than 100 turf removal projects. Gulich told me that one square foot of natural grass needs 70 gallons of water per year to keep it green. Picture a nine-foot column of water.
Seven Million Gallons of Savings
SNWA just projected annual water savings of 7 million gallons at MGM Resorts employee homes across Southern Nevada. Gulich says the cash for grass program is just one way MGM Resorts helps to support employee efforts to conserve water. The company pays half of the expenses for a smart irrigation controller with SWWA paying for the other half. MGM Resorts will also pay half of the cost of leak detector equipment and funds at-home water conservation kits that include dye tabs, flow bags to check flow rates, low-flow aerators and showerheads.
“We just added funding for 18 months,” Gulich says. With funding available through June 2027, the company aims to expand participation and further reduce residential water demand while strengthening shared responsibility for conservation across Southern Nevada.
“In a region defined by water scarcity, conservation is a shared responsibility,” Gulich says. “By enhancing rebates for our employees, we’ve helped create permanent water savings in households across Southern Nevada while engaging our workforce in sustainability efforts that extend beyond the workplace. It’s one way we’re investing not only in our operations, but in the long-term sustainability of our community.
Today, the Lake Mead water level stands at 1,064 feet. Last week, Newsweek reported that the surface of Lake Mead could sink to an unprecedented low within the next two years, as new federal forecasts warn the nation’s largest reservoir could fall well below its previous record amid ongoing strain on the Colorado River system.
As of March 13, official data shows that Lake Mead was just 34 percent full, with around 8.8 million acre-feet of water in storage—roughly 53 percent of the average level for the date.
To learn more about MGM Resorts’ sustainability efforts, click here.
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