RENO, Nev. (AP) - The worst Sierra snowpack in more than a century means more cutbacks for Reno-area water users with no relief in sight from four years of drought.
The Truckee Meadows Water Authority is asking the 118,000 homes and businesses it serves to reduce all water use by 10 percent from 2013 consumption levels. The request expands a 10 percent reduction the authority requested last summer for outdoor irrigation to include all water use.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that authority officials also expect to begin tapping backup drought supplies stored in upstream reservoirs by July 1. They did that last August for the first time in 20 years.
The water cutbacks are voluntary, unlike in California where regulators have limited lawn watering to twice a week and prohibited restaurants from offering water unless customers ask.