LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A new lawsuit is taking aim at the Southern Nevada Water Authority's turf removal program, claiming it has led to the death of 100,000 trees across the Las Vegas Valley.
Four local residents have filed suit against SNWA, represented by attorney Sam Castor, Managing Partner of Lex Tecnica lawfirm, who argues the agency's grass removal mandates lack proper legal and constitutional oversight.
WATCH| Geneva Zoltek speaks to an attorney representing locals opposed to SNWA's turf removal program
"We have to protect what has taken five generations to grow here in Las Vegas," Castor said.
The complaint opens with a quote from the Dr. Seuss children's book "The Lorax": "We speak for the trees."
"I mean who doesn't love the Lorax. It's an incredible story. Nobody wants to be Thneedville, a place with plastic trees and cement sidewalks, and the ground is a 120 degrees," Castor said.
The lawsuit argues that only 10% of trees in the Las Vegas Valley survive after grass removal and that the policies have created a "valley-wide graveyard of trees" that would take decades to recover.
Tree canopy provides crucial benefits in fighting the effects of hot desert summers. However, the Las Vegas area also faces longstanding drought conditions and declining Colorado River water supply.
Critics say both issues come to a head with SNWA's turf removal.
Laura McSwain, who is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit but leads the Water Fairness Coalition, supports the legal challenge.
"The ability to water grass with Colorado River water is what's called out as being illegal in the bill," McSwain explained.
She questions why Nevada, which has the smallest allotment of Colorado River water among basin states, faces so many cuts.
"To lump us in with the rest of the basin states and suggest that we should take some percentage of whatever cuts are coming, to me is a ridiculous proposition," McSwain said.
A Southern Nevada Water Authority spokesperson said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
