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The results of the preliminary examination into plumbing and irrigation met with similar success. This task didn’t just require the limited staff of the NVD, with governmental employees paying the destitute to help track pipes and give a rough location of any leaks/points of interest.
Unsurprisingly, the quality of the irrigation piping to many of the farms leave much to be desired. Numerous watering holes and springs pop up where a pipe sprung a leak, inadvertently providing refuge for hostile and non-hostile wildlife. There are presumably hundreds of these leaks, both big and small, that do waste water but nothing that would explain the dropping levels of Mead.
The other part of the investigation centered on general plumbing that supplies parts of Freeside, New Vegas and Westside. True to their word, Westside did allow investigators from the Ag Department to examine their water systems. Not only was there little to critique, but Westside is exceedingly efficient with their water usage. That being said, they do use almost double the amount as Freeside, though much less of the population.
With such a small number of personnel devoted to the task, not every lead could be followed in just a month. There are hundreds of flooded facilities throughout New Vegas still having water pipes through, not to mention the labyrinth that is the New Vegas Sewer System. The conclusion gathered is that the current water usage should not constitute the precipitous drop in water levels that have been seen as of late.
May Robertson, a “hydrologist” from the NCR, thinks that there is either a severe drought in the region, or that there is a blockage upriver that prevents Mead from being refilled as it is every year. That being said, there is still much that could be done to increase efficiency in industry and agriculture that would cut water usage and improving the irrigation system of the Mojave would only improve crop output.
Secretary Gunderson has requested funding and personnel to repair and improve the irrigation system in the North Mojave where most of the food to Freeside comes from. He also passed along a request from his father, asking for help to expand irrigation to the West Mojave where water is much harder to come by.
