It takes a lot of water to keep all seven school campuses in the southern part of the Nye County School District running.

There are fields to be watered and sprinklers under the constant and perpetual threat of getting kicked off by student feet, play or just plain wanton vandalism.

So managing to conserve about 8.5 million gallons of water during the course of the 2005 to 2006 academic year was no small feat for the Nye County School District's maintenance and operations crew.

But they did it.

As a result, Superintendent Rob Roberts and Bob Whimpey, head of Maintenance and Operations, were presented a Cashman Good Government finalist award.

The water that was saved translated into some saved cash as well, and Whimpey said the conservation effort trimmed $4,816 off the southern district's bill.

Several water conservation efforts were implemented in order to cut down on the southern district's use of what amounts to clear, wet gold in the desert.

"It's a district issue, and everyone is working on it," Whimpey said. "The biggest thing is just discipline, and Dr. Roberts making everyone aware of water usage."

The watering schedule of the fields at the schools was changed, cutting down to a once-a-week watering in the winter, and moving up to three times a week in the spring. In the summer, the grass is watered as needed, but Whimpey said they keep a close eye on how much water is being used.

The water on the five-acre field at Pahrump Valley High School was shut off because it was using a whopping five acre feet of water a year.

In addition, the amount of grass on fields at J.G. Johnson Elementary School and the high school was cut down.

The soccer field uses a hybrid Bermuda grass that uses 30 percent less water a year.

Whimpey added that another aspect of the conservation efforts involves added vigilance, such as repairing broken sprinkler heads right away, which is a significant problem for the district.

"The kids are prone to breaking them almost daily," Whimpey said.

Whimpey added the school district would continue its water conservation efforts.

He said the district is actively looking into using Astroturf on the fields and that future schools in the district would be using desert landscaping.