The Water in Las VegasAlthough Las Vegas is in a desert, and conservation efforts are always in effect, this isn't about that. It's about the quality of the local tap water. In your travels around town, you will see many shops and kiosks selling water. Sometimes, you fill your own jugs; sometimes you buy it bottled. Why buy it? Well, the tap water here bothers some people. Actually, it bothers a lot of people. It tends to be hard, leaves rings in the toilets, and makes cloudy ice. Some people, like my wife, can't drink it or cook with it. 
Ice cubes from filtered water (left) and Las Vegas Water (right)
We found, after lugging home 12 to 24 gallon jugs a week, that a fairly inexpensive reverse osmosis system solved many of our problems. These devices, which I'm told work completely by magic, attach to your kitchen sink, ice maker, or other appliance, and produce nice clear water (and ice). The filters that need to be changed about twice a year, and that, at least on out unit, is a messy job, although it only takes a few minutes. Our daughter has a service that delivers 5 gallon jugs for her dispenser on a regular basis. She seems happy with the setup, and says she'll stay with that until they remodel or move. Some of our neighbors have whole house water softeners. I have had them in other houses of mine, and they work quite well. We are planning to install one in the future, but we'll probably keep the RO system at the kitchen sink and the ice maker. A brief word about reverse osmosis. It wastes quite a bit of water. I have been told that for every gallon you get out of it, as many as three go down your drain. Do your research.
Selling water treatment systems is a big business in Las Vegas, and not everyone you deal with will be completely honest. I have had some salesmen tell me things that were entirely untrue, while others just didn't know the facts. Ask someone who has been in town a while what they do, and how it works.
Just a side note... I recently noticed a fast food chain selling a brand name bottle of water at a price that worked out to about $11.00 a gallon. And you thought milk was expensive!
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