The Las Vegas Wash: A Changing Urban Commons in a Changing Urban Context

Abstract

"The Las Vegas Wash, a 12-mile natural wash, provides the primary drainage for Las Vegas, NV, the fastest growing metropolitan area in the U.S. Sewage is effluent from three treatment plants, groundwater drainage, and storm water travel through the wash to Lake Mead. The population of the drainage area has grown from a few people at the turn of the century, to 200,000 in the late 1960's to over 1.2 million today. This increased population led to increased wash flow, from less than 1 ft3/sec to over 200 ft3/sec, and consequent ecological changes from a nearly dry wash to a rich wetland, and finally to an eroded and channelized system. As the wash ecosystem has changed, the valuation and use of the wash by valley residents has also changed. This paper discusses the links between urban development and ecosystem change in the Las Vegas Valley, focusing on the changes in the way residents have valued and managed the wash resources, and the institutional and organizational structures that have developed to manage the resources."