Las Vegas faces drought

The Las Vegas Strip forms a backdrop to parched ground and brush.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Rusted pipes rise from the parched earth at the Springs Preserve near downtown Las Vegas. The ground in some areas of the preserve dropped multiple feet after the aquifer below was depleted.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

A dust storm moves across the high desert at the California-Nevada state line.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, says turning off lawn sprinklers will play a big part in alleviating the area’s water troubles.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)