‘We live in a desert. We have to act like it’: Las Vegas faces reality of drought

Water investigators track down wasteful homeowners and public turf torn up to conserve scarce water supplies

Investigator Perry Kaye jammed the brakes of his government-issued vehicle to survey the offense. Uh oh this doesn't look too good. Let's take a peek," he said, exiting the car to handle what has become one of the most existential violations in drought-stricken Las Vegas - a faulty sprinkler.

Kaye is one of nearly 50 water waste investigators deployed by the local water authority to crack down on even the smallest misuse of a liquid perilously scarce in the US west, desiccated by two decades of drought. The situation in Las Vegas, which went a record 240 consecutive days without rain last year, is increasingly severe.