By KEN RITTER Associated Press
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LAS VEGAS — Nevada has taken a dramatic, but not immediate, step toward limiting the amount of Colorado River water used in the most populous part of the nation’s most arid state, after lawmakers gave Las Vegas-area water managers the levers to limit flows to single-family homes.

Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a law passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature to let the Southern Nevada Water Authority restrict the amount of water provided to homes — if the federal government further dials back Nevada’s share of water drawn from the river.

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“This legislation builds on our efforts to protect sustainable growth on the county and state levels,” the Republican governor said in a Tuesday signing statement that cited goals of balancing economic expansion with ensuring “clean and stable water into the future.”

In the Las Vegas area, ornamental lawns are already banned, swimming pool sizes are limited, almost all water inside homes is recycled, “water cops” patrol for leaks and fountains on the Las Vegas Strip use reclaimed water. Water agencies in Southern California, Phoenix and Salt Lake City joined last year in widening calls to rip out thirsty turf.

The new law pushes the region ahead of other places in the U.S. West in efforts to crack down on water wasters. But it’s not a first. A water district serving homes in a celebrity enclave near Los Angeles threatened last year to slow deliveries to a trickle for wealthy customers who find monetary fines no deterrent to busting their water budgets.

In Arizona, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced last week that developers of projects in fast-growing Phoenix suburbs will have to show they can provide water to new homes from sources other than the depleted groundwater supply. The city of Scottsdale in January cut off water to homes in a neighboring unincorporated community, Rio Verde Foothills.

Southern Nevada Water Authority officials who sought the Nevada law insist they only intend to enact limits if necessary.