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Boulder City staff: summer power and water demand rose in 2023–24; golf courses account for roughly a third of water use
Summary
City utilities staff told the advisory committee that 2023 brought modest energy demand growth and 2024 saw sharp summer spikes; water deliveries rose in 2024 while the city's three golf courses used about 36% of total municipal water in 2024, staff said.
Utilities staff presented multi‑year energy and water trends and warned the committee that peak summer demand is driving recent increases in consumption. "For 2023 versus 2022, energy demand increased in most months during 2023 compared to 2022," a utilities presenter said, noting "7 to 10% growth in January through March and a 12% rise in July" and that 2024 continued to show strong summer surges.
The committee asked whether monthly swings reflected billing‑period timing and seasonal population shifts; staff confirmed billing‑month offsets can make calendar‑month comparisons confusing and said they would provide clarifying population and billing‑period data for follow‑up. Committee members also asked about the share of homes that are electrically heated versus gas heated and whether recent turf‑removal incentives had reduced residential water use.
On water, staff said 2024 total deliveries from the Southern Nevada Water Authority were about 9,300 acre‑feet and the city’s contractual allotment is substantially larger. "The majority of the city's usage is the golf courses," the presenter said, reporting that the three municipal courses accounted for about 36% of the city's water use in 2024. Committee members pressed for clarity about how golf‑course irrigation and other large institutional users are charged and whether penalties or incentive funds from SNWA will be tracked publicly.
Staff said mitigation steps are underway — including a new golf‑course water budget and other projects — and offered to return with more detailed breakdowns of per‑sector consumption, the planned effects of conservation incentives and an explanation of how SNWA penalties, when assessed, would be handled in the city's budget processes. The committee asked that the topic of SNWA penalties and any plans for spending related funds be added to a future agenda so the public can follow how penalty funds, if any, would be used.
