1. A plan of water conservation submitted to the Commission for approval must include provisions relating to:

(a) Methods of public education to:

(1) Increase public awareness of the limited supply of water in this state and the need to conserve water.

(2) Encourage reduction in the size of lawns and encourage the use of plants that are adapted to arid and semiarid climates.

(b) Specific conservation measures required to meet the needs of the service area, including, but not limited to, any conservation measures required by law.

(c) The management of water to identify and reduce water loss in water supplies, inaccuracies in water meters and high pressure in water supplies, which must include, without limitation:

(1) Goals for acceptable levels of water loss in water supplies. Such goals may use the following performance indicators and analyses, without limitation:

(I) Infrastructure water loss index;

(II) Water audit data validity score;

(III) Operational basic apparent losses;

(IV) Operational basic real losses; and

(V) Economic level of water loss.

(2) A plan which analyzes how the public utility will progress towards the goals established for the acceptable levels of water loss.

(d) The management of water to, where applicable, increase the reuse of effluent.

(e) A contingency plan for drought conditions that ensures a supply of potable water.

(f) A schedule for carrying out the plan.

(g) A plan for how the public utility will progress towards the installation of meters on all connections, if applicable.

(h) Standards for water efficiency for new development.

(i) Tiered rate structures for the pricing of water to promote the conservation of water, including, without limitation, an estimate of the manner in which the tiered rate structure will impact the consumptive use of water.

(j) Watering restrictions based on the time of day and the day of the week.

(k) Measures to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan.

2. A plan submitted for approval must be accompanied by an analysis of the feasibility of charging variable rates for the use of water to encourage the conservation of water.

3. The Commission shall review any plan submitted to it and approve the plan if it is based on the climate and living conditions of the service area and complies with the requirements of this section.

(Added to NRS by 1991, 523; A 2019, 2105, effective January 1, 2020)