Water reserve doubles, restaurants open back up in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, N.M. (KRQE) – Businesses in Las Vegas are finally opening up again after water restrictions forced closures across the city.

Last week, the City of Las Vegas closed “non-essential” businesses because flash flooding in the Hermits Peak Calf Canyon burn scar contaminated the city’s water supply.

“We are really excited to be able to open back up,” said Prairie Hill Café owner Sara Matthews.

While restaurant owners are grateful to be back, they are still feeling the financial burden of being closed.

“We do still have concerns, like the rest of our community, to make sure there’s enough resources for everyone to go around,” said Matthews.

Sara Matthews said it’s a been tough few years.

“To survive COVID then have to deal with these catastrophic wildfires two years ago, which also meant water restrictions and had a huge negative impact on business, and now flooding . The financial impact on small business in our community has been devastating,” said Matthews.

Many business owners were upset about the closure. At a recent town hall, they called for resources and answers from city officials as well as offered suggestions of their own.

One of the business owners said, “I am scared for my employees.”

Matthews fears she will not get compensation for the time she had to close, based on past experiences with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“A year ago today or actually tomorrow, we submitted our paperwork for hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial losses, and we’ve yet to see a single penny for that,” she explained.

She has found financial support in the New Mexico Restaurant Association, saying her employees have applied for a grant.

“Other than that, there’s no financial assistance for us, so it’s a challenge to get everyone back, get all of our food stocked, and prepped in such a short notice. You can’t reopen a restaurant on a turn of a dime,” said Matthews.

Following the recent concerns about water supply not keeping up with demand, the city decided it was now safe to re-open. However, Tim Montgomery, the Las Vegas City Manager said, “Consumption is still slightly above the water production, and the effort to bring water in is really helping covering that gap between production and usage, and then allowing us to build reserves into our water tanks.”

“Keep Las Vegas in your thoughts. We’re a resilient town, but we could use all the help and support we can get at the state and federal level right now.” said Matthews.

Restaurant owners have been asked to only use plastic plates and utensils only give out water when requested and to avoid using dishwashers and washing machines.

The city said, as of 8 a.m. Monday, they have 6.5 million gallons of water in their reserve tanks which is an improvement from their 2.6 million from a week ago.

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