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. . ji~" Cb '()>iY"...! ~.0 ~ Vegas to slake thirst? Bad bet By Jennifer Gavin Denver Post Slaff Wrlter LAS VEGAS - The marquee at the Des- '! - ert Inn touts the rock, group Air Supply. If Las W~* gas city hall were to sport a giant sign like those in front of the casinos, it would clamor for Uwater supply." The fastest-growing city in the U,S., Las Vegas needs water like blackjack players need aces. Some 31,000 new jobs were created in the past year, primarily because of giant new casinos. "And 31,000 new jobs is incredi- ble," says John Schlegel, Las Vegas planning director. Three new casIno/hotels - Treasure Island, the Lux. or and the MGM Grand - contain a total of 11,000 rooms. Five more casinos are on drawing boards. People pour into town for hotel and casino jobs, even though they are largely ser- vice work with low or mod- erate pay. As a result, the Las Vegas metro-area popu- iation is pushing 1 million, That's up from about 750,000 in 1990: 460,000 in 1980; and 275,000 in 1970. The job seekers come even though Las Vegas, in early 1991, had to call a halt to new buUding permits when officials discovered that they might have over- committed avallable munic- ipal water supplies, The issue of water scarci- ty is keeping officials in neighboring states up nights. They worry about breaking up the Colorado River Com- pact to bring neW water to teeming populations in Ne- vada and California. Please see VEGAS on 23A SHOWDOWN Open Colo. market feared western water I SOURCE: The Colorado River trickle. from headwaters In Rocky Mountain National Park, beginning Its seven8state Journey toward t~e " ":<0JFVfr<s~k~~.il{#fp$ni8i,,~'69't'(JI,in,~~c~arCIeon sea. EXp'I~~I;Ye~'M~~~~,:'g_rom~;),~- _ca~..I~g :a," tug- of-war'a,.mc?,l:'Ig:-'t1~'~.tBt.es;_~Bt' ~ha~e".the' ,river's w~tlilr _through' a:, speciaL trQ~ty.. DESTINATION: Ship. wage. phony baUle on a manmade lagoon In front of the Treas~re Island casino and hotel In Las Vegas, Nev.! A SpecIal to The Denver Post real battle over access to Colorado River water has prompted the thirsty city to order use of recycled water for such visual attractions. DIR SC ASC F \ L E By Jennifer Gavin and Adriel Bettelhelm Denver Post SlaffWrllars Out West, it's said that water flows up- hill toward money. That's more than bluster along the Colorado River, where rich, thirsty cities in Nevada and perhaps Cali- fornia are poised to use cash, Congress and even Col. orado's own quirky laws to secure more water. As growth takes off across the seven states covered in the Colorado River Compact that spells out water alloca. tions; urban areas - espe- cially Las Vegas - are in. vestigating strategies that could make the desert bloom at other states' expense. One such strategy could take advantage of the state of Colorado's longtime defi- nition of water as "private property" that can be bought or sold. Water law is more restrictive in neigh- boring states, so Colorado would be the most vulnera- ble if Nevada maneuvered aggressively to buy up wa- ter from individual owners, At least a half-dozen would-be water sellers in Colorado envision healthy profit!:, and they would pre- fer a hands-off approach by the st.ate government. Colo- rado Gov. Roy Romer bas other ideas. "I don't have much con- trol over Nevada. (But) 1 have been trying to send a message to the lower basin: 'You're not gonna do this while I'm governor,'" Ro. mer said. Romer and others are worried that sales could up- + Please see RIVER on 22A