Nevada's 'Ornamental' Water

Southern Nevada water regulators "levied strict limits on ornamental fountains as part of an aggressive and largely successful conservation effort. The rules upset shopping center developers, who use fountains to break up the otherwise endless horizon of rocky crags and chain stores on the outskirts of town."

An enterprising developer "began hauling in truckloads of water from Canada and the Northwest and dumping it into his decorative fountains... At a cost of as much as $20,000 a month, tens of thousands of gallons of water have been poured into three fountains... When the water evaporates, which can take as little as three days under the summer sun, Triple Five fills the fountains again."

Other developers have adopted the practice. According to officials, the practice is not illegal, but it the practice may "violate the spirit of the rules, which were designed to encourage residents and businesses to embrace their surroundings — which means, in the desert, using less water."