Once Was Water

Some solutions to the looming global water crisis might be found in sharing the lessons learned by one city in the desert — the driest city in America, faced with depleted groundwater, constant expansion and only three inches of rain per year

Once Was Water seeks to bring a fundamental understanding of the global water crisis to diverse audiences. Our goal is to build an awareness to some of the efforts -- technological, physical and political -- that are being made to better prepare us to live with the escalating water scarcity.

As a follow-up to our previous film Racing to Zero, and in the same style of investigation, Once Was Water will focus on solutions to global water issues by turning a lens on Las Vegas, Nevada.

Las Vegas is a locale that people everywhere in the world know about. It is also the thirstiest city in the driest state in the U.S., so it has had to be proactive in developing solutions that conserve and redistribute water, their most precious resource. Currently the city is faced with only 2.6 inches of rain per annum, a seventeen-year drought, a constantly expanding population and competition for shared resources. As the drought that the water bosses were predicting in 2005 drags on into its 17th year, scientists now recognize it as one of the worst in

1,200 years. As a result, the city has become a unique example of what one desert region has accomplished in its search for solutions. They are now at a fine point in their efforts towards sustainability. They have no choice.

Directed by: Christopher Beaver.

Produced by: Diana Fuller.

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Distributed by: Bullfrog Films

Learn more: https://www.oncewaswater.org/