When he heard that he was going to make amends, Link laughed in his heart. Ask for his water, what good can they give. Could it be that he can really sell water for oil prices?

But he still had a sincere smile on his face and said, "Mr. Mayor." You know that's impossible. ”

He raised his hand to stop the other from speaking, and said, "Mr. Mayor, you can see from the several wells I have drilled in several places. Every place where you can find water is different. I think the reason why the well on Hans Farm has that daily flow is precisely because it has only one well. Maybe one more bite will reduce the water pressure in the ground and the amount of water produced will drop dramatically. ”

Sinclair had that concern. But now he can only gamble that the water in the aquifer of the Hans Farm is large enough.

Now Lake Mead has drastically reduced the amount of water it supplies to Las Vegas, and all the big casinos are very worried that that's just the beginning. They fear that after the drought passes, Lake Mead will not return to its pre-drought water supply.

That's not unfounded.

Motions to reduce or even stop the supply of water to Las Vegas began several years ago. Each time, it was the Nevada state government that stepped in to ensure that Las Vegas had enough water. But the situation is different now.

Lake Mead's water level has dropped by 40 percent from its maximum level and has not been able to return to its ideal level.

That proves that Lake Mead has been oversupplied. And Las Vegas is the city that pumps the most water from Lake Mead. And it's the city with the most wasteful water use.

It is highly likely that Lake Mead's management company will use the drought to create a given. In the future, the water supply will be refused.

That's why, over the past three months, those casinos have invested millions to drill wells.

The result is nothing.

So they hoped to get a guaranteed source of water from Link.

Sinclair was also under pressure from the big casinos, so he had to come to Link.

At this time, he understood that Hans's farm might not have enough water, but he did not want to give up hope: "Mr. Hans, of course your concerns are justified. But we are not praying for a sufficient supply of water from Hanse Farms. How much can be added is very important for the city. ”

He paused for a moment and continued, "If you want." I propose that we fund the drilling within the range you specify. In the early stage, we only drill a small number of wells to assess whether and how much impact the new wells will have on the water output of the existing wells. This allows us to extract as much water as possible. Of course, no matter how much water is extracted, it should be supplied to Hanse farms first. But we want all the excess water to be pumped into Lake Mead and then supplied to the city through Lake Mead's original water system. ”

Link shook his head with a smile and said, "But Mr. Mayor, that will use a lot of land temporarily. You know, if you want to suppress the water column, it's a lot of investment. If left unsuppressed, every suffocation of water can affect acres of land. In order to protect the water, I had to seal off the land. That would have a big impact on my farm operations. ”

Sinclair heard this concern and came up with a plan that said, "In fact, we have a win-win plan. ”

Link looked at his so-called plan suspiciously.

I have to say that the plan they did was really good. They calculated that if a well could spray more than 20,000 cubic meters of water a day, they could even build a special 200-kilowatt hydroelectric generator and install them above a metal cover. Hydroelectric power attenuates the impact of the water flow, which is then confined to a small area by a hood and then piped to the canal and led to Lake Mead.

In this way, the land area will not be too large, and the water quality of the water source can be avoided. Depending on the amount of water they need, they may need to drill sixty wells. That's just the amount of electricity generated, and that's seven million dollars a year.

And in the scheme, all investments are taken care of by the Las Vegas casino. Half of the electricity sales were then given to Hans Farm.

This plan seems to be very good, and if someone else might look at the no-cost business of more than three million dollars a year, and pay only a few acres of land, they may agree to it.

But Link doesn't. For him, a few million is not enough for the interest tax on the deposits he now has in the bank. He didn't care about that money. And he gets millions of cubic meters of water a day from his farm, and only gives him $3 million a year. Is this sending beggars?

He briefly flipped through the plan, shook his head and said, "Mr. Mayor, now that Las Vegas buys water from Lake Mead, how is it billed?"

Sinclair's heart sank when she heard his question. But he honestly said, "It's about $1.31 per 100 cubic feet." "One hundred cubic feet, which is equivalent to 2.82 cubic feet.

This is a desert area, and it is normal for the cost of buying water to be higher. And this water is sent through the water pipeline, which also requires electricity bills or something. Previously, Las Vegas household water was only $2.34 per 100 cubic feet. But now it's gone to $4. Previously, the city government had a certain subsidy for residential water use. And now, in order to reduce the water consumption of residents and ensure the water consumption of casinos as much as possible, not only the subsidy has been abolished, but the water bill has been raised.

But now it seems that the move was a complete failure. That made some residents start moving out of the city.

"Mr. Mayor, I have a suggestion. I can agree to drill sixty wells on my farm. But we each give half of the investment. Regardless of the amount of water produced, all but the amount needed by Hans's farm is sent to Lake Mead. But I want Las Vegas to pay $1 per hundred cubic feet, and Las Vegas and I split the water bill equally. ”

Sinclair heard his suggestion and thought about it quickly. Although this fee is also very large, the cost of delivering 100 cubic feet of water to Las Vegas at Lake Mead is not 0.3 US dollars. Even if you pay a sum of money to Link, the water bill in the future will not be higher than the water bill before the water restriction. Residents and casinos alike can afford it.

On top of that, the city government can and can reap the same benefits as Link.

But if the city wants to get that money, it's impossible to take money from the casinos. That would require a large investment. He couldn't reply to Link right now, saying, "I need to get the consent of the city council." ”

Link nodded and said, "Of course." But I have one more point that I have to make upfront. If it is found that the new wells will affect the existing wells, the number of wells drilled needs to be appropriately reduced. In addition, I have wind power in Nevada, and I hope Las Vegas will buy it first. ”

"Personally, I think this condition can be considered!" Now Las Vegas has been in a state of power shortage, and whoever buys electricity is buying, so Sinclair doesn't care much about this condition.

His calculation was that if Hans Farm could supply 300 million gallons of water, the city would have enough water in the future, even if Lake Mead stopped supplying water to Las Vegas. While Link is paid more than $200,000 a day, the city receives the same amount of revenue.

This expense, he believes that all the residents of the casino will be willing to bear.

It can be said that he is willing to accept Link's plan in his heart. But the key is whether Hanse's farm can get that much water.

Link is also quite optimistic about this business. His plan was to restore the casino's water bills to the level before Lake Mead's water supply was restricted. After a period of painful periods of water shortage, residents of both casinos and casinos will be happy to accept this plan.

In fact, if he is greedy, he can ask for his own investment and monopolize all the water bills. Now that Las Vegas is in the midst of a period of water shortage, there is a good chance of consent.

But the drought can't go on forever. And in doing so, it would make the Las Vegas city government and casinos feel like he controls the lifeblood of the entire casino. The conflict between the two sides will deepen over time.

But now half of that interest is given to the city of Las Vegas. That kind of problem doesn't arise. Half of the power to supply water is in the hands of the Las Vegas government. Others won't feel like he's in complete control of Las Vegas' water sources.

And then there's that groundwater, if there's really that much. He won't get a penny if he doesn't dig it out. After those rhinestones come out, he doesn't have to spend a penny to maintain them.

If he wants to drill six ***, he will invest half of it at most to spend six hundred to eight million. As long as he can drill 100,000 cubic meters of daily flow, he can recover the cost in a year by selling water, and then he will make a pure profit. If the amount of water is larger, then of course the profit will be more.

He can't be too greedy for such a business. Half of the benefits will be given to the Las Vegas City Government, and he will be in front of anything else.

And now Hans Farm has been suspected of having groundwater. If there is a troublemaker who wants to expropriate it, the groundwater rights will not be counted in the compensation. But if the water is extracted, it's different. At the same time, if successful, Las Vegas will also legalize these groundwater rights.

If there are tens of millions of dollars in income every year. Whoever wants to expropriate Hans's farm will have to weigh the price.

With that kind of cooperation, he can use the water to improve his status in Las Vegas without causing too much jealousy. He felt that was the best option for him, but cautious enough.

As for whether the cooperation can be reached, it depends on how the Las Vegas city government thinks about it. If he doesn't agree, he can try to work with Lake Mead Management.

Lake Mead now supports drinking and agricultural water for tens of millions of people downstream. Water resources are very scarce. Downstream pumping also costs money. Then he sells the water to Lake Mead, and the other party may not consider it.

Sinclair talked carefully with Link for more than half an hour about Link's proposal for cooperation, mainly discussing some details. The two men generally agreed on a number of major issues. Finally, with a hint of excitement, New Carlisle said: "I will document your proposal as soon as possible and urge the city council to consider it as soon as possible." Once it is approved, we can start this cooperation immediately. ”

As soon as Link left City Hall, he began to consider where there might be groundwater.

The whole state was looking for groundwater in Nevada, but none of them were found. It also made Link think that the water layer might really be fragmented.

The experience of the four oil wells at Baker Farms in particular proves that. The oil fields there seem to be just a few hundred meters away. Beyond that, there is no trace of crude oil.

Now the oil boreholes on Baker's Farm have been drilled more than 2,000 meters, but not even the oil foam has been found. He worries that the groundwater at Hans's farm is the same there.