A group of local middle school students wants southern Nevadans to be aware of what they call an environmental hazard at Lake Mead.

Greenspun Junior High School Leadership Club students are launching a public campaign about “the dangers and the damage done by the use of carbureted 2-stroke engines.”

In 2013, a ban on personal watercrafts with carbureted 2-stroke engines went into effect to help reduce pollution at the lake. Leadership Club students, led by educators Gwendolyn Buckles and Katie Litzenberg, started an educational campaign named “Lake MEad.” It focuses on the effects pollution has in southern Nevada’s public recreation areas.

The students created a multimedia campaign to spread the word about the 2-stroke engine ban at the lake. During their after-school club, students chose this cause as their annual community project.

Years after its lone water park closed, a pair could come online in the coming months.

When Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announced last week that he would not sign a water-sharing agreement with Nevada, he highlighted a persistent public relations problem for Las Vegas: Despite major conservation gains in recent years, Sin City is still viewed as a water hog.

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The hard work of a Henderson man and his mother was rewarded when the Southern Nevada Water Authority named their yard, Yard of the Month for January.

Devon Sansone and his mother moved into the former rental property nine years ago. In that time, they've worked to remove the turf and replace it with water-efficient landscaping.

Sansone did not just remove the turf, he dug down another eight inches and filled it back in with six inches of compact red soil. He says the red soil helps keep down weeds and holds moisture.

His yard now features low-water plants like dwarf bottle brush, deer grass, sago palms, Texas rangers and lantana. The change brought down their water bill by 25 percent.

Sansone and his mother did most of the work on their yard themselves.

“My advice for anyone who wants to do this on their own is to keep it simple,” he said. “You’d be surprised how well desert plants can do in this valley.”