We recognize the long-term water stress in the southwestern United States. Southern Nevada’s innovative water infrastructure planning allows approximately 40% of water used by the community to be captured, treated and returned to Lake Mead (at a 99% efficiency rate) via a regional water recycling system. Given this and other ongoing efforts by the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the community is well-positioned to adapt to potential future water stress. At our Las Vegas properties, over 75% of water is returned to Lake Mead for reuse. We are also committed to conservation, with a special emphasis on consumptive water use. Between 2007 and 2021, MGM Resorts reduced water use by 37% and avoided use of 5.6 billion gallons through conservation and water-efficient building design.

Examples of our approaches to help mitigate risk include:

• Investing in water-efficient equipment and retrofits, including modern and water-efficient cooling towers
• Converting real grass to drought-tolerant landscaping
• Diversifying water withdrawal sources (utility water, well water, rainwater)

Effective water management requires a systems approach to understand water use in individual facilities and organizations. MGM Resorts utilizes a centrally managed database which captures utility invoice data and readily shows spend and volume trends.

Systems-level metering is necessary to provide critical end-user data to identify additional areas of opportunity and water-use hotspots. MGM Resorts has conducted pilot submetering programs such as the pool monitoring project at Bellagio that have resulted in water savings and real-time consumption insights. MGM Resorts is currently in the process of installing advanced submeters on the inflow and outflow points of all Las Vegas cooling tower banks to quantify evaporative water loss from cooling towers reliably.

Systems-level metering is necessary to provide critical end-user data to identify additional areas of opportunity and water-use hotspots. MGM Resorts has conducted pilot submetering programs such as the pool monitoring project at Bellagio that have resulted in water savings and real-time consumption insights. MGM Resorts is currently in the process of installing advanced submeters on the inflow and outflow points of all Las Vegas cooling tower banks to quantify evaporative water loss from cooling towers reliably.

We have made considerable progress with the installation of water efficient fixtures across all properties. We installed low-flow fixtures in both new development projects and existing property retrofits and have played a role in reducing MGM Resorts’ water withdrawal intensity by 37% since 2007. In addition, touchless fixtures are widely installed in both front- and back-of-house areas, further driving savings. Maintaining this progress has required the integration of fixture upkeep in the Zone Maintenance Program of each property to ensure connections do not leak and that timers and sensors are correctly calibrated.

Housekeeping and laundry operations are a key focus in our ongoing water conservation efforts, and one in which guests can have a direct impact on water consumption. Our opt-out programs allow guests to reuse their towels and bedding, saving water by reducing laundry volumes. Guest room attendants also play a role in overall water efficiency by flushing toilets and running sinks and showers only when necessary in cleaning. Ongoing training ensures continuation of these guest-facing water savings.

Pools, cooling towers and other water bodies must be filtered and chemically treated to prevent the buildup of particulate matter and harmful organic compounds. As demonstrated by the pool metering project at Bellagio, significant water savings are realized by ensuring pools and other water bodies are not prematurely flushed. In cooling towers, water leaves behind a concentration of dissolved solids (e.g., mineral deposits) and process chemicals as it evaporates. These deposits reduce the tower’s cooling efficiency and eventually must be flushed and the water replaced. MGM Resorts works closely with its chemical and water treatment partners to ensure cooling tower water is optimized for as long as possible before.

The lush landscapes across our resorts are a visible point of water consumption. All water used in landscaping is consumptive and removed from municipal water systems via evaporation, transpiration or absorption. By 2021, we replaced over 200,000 square feet of grass with artificial turf and drought-tolerant plants to reduce consumptive water use. Horticulture programs utilize native and adapted plants to further reduce irrigation demand. Alternatives are currently being explored for the non-functional turf at Shadow Creek, MGM Resorts’ premier golf course.

Mechanical systems used to heat and cool resorts significantly impact water efficiency. Our large-scale cooling applications use cooling towers, which evaporate water to extract heat energy and release it into ambient air. Since evaporation is the primary function of a cooling tower, reducing water volumes lost to evaporation is not typically targeted in water conservation efforts. Drift, the quantity of water carried away as mist or water droplets before it can evaporate, is a form of cooling tower water loss that can be targeted with drift eliminators. We are working towards replacing cooling towers at their end-of-life with models that can drastically reduce drift losses. For example, through a comprehensive program, we enhanced the efficiency of our Las Vegas cooling towers by increasing the cycles of concentration from 2.5 to 5, yielding water savings of up to 50%.

We believe that climate change adaptation goes beyond the energy pillar. We invest in water recycling at the time of Design & Development to diversify our water sources throughout the life cycle of our resorts and entertainment venues. This is essential in increasing our resilience to water stress and decreasing future demand for water. Additionally, regional water recycling in Southern Nevada recycles virtually all water that goes back down the drain. In Southern Nevada, approximately 40% of water is continuously reused via this water recycling system. At MGM Resorts, over 75% of our water use at our Las Vegas Strip Resorts is returned to Lake Mead for reuse.

Examples include:

• More than 90% of the water of the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay is reused
• Fountains of Bellagio use an onsite well and pool water from the 'O’ Theater' as source water

We rely on potable water to deliver hospitality and entertainment experiences to our guests. We often exceed compliance and integrate water quality monitoring as a standard business practice across our resorts and entertainment venues.

Examples include:

• Compliance with regulations by monitoring the quality of water withdrawals
• Daily monitoring of potable water systems for employees and guests
• Regular evaluation of water quality for pools, spas, drinking fountains and water dispensers

If managed poorly, wastewater poses a severe pollution risk to natural water sources. While our properties discharge wastewater directly to municipal wastewater treatment plants, we are committed to exceeding compliance and implementing wastewater treatment practices to minimize the pollution levels of our wastewater before entering sewers.

Examples include:

• Install water conditioning systems to improve the drinking quality of our water
• Direct discharge of wastewater to municipal wastewater treatment plants
• Leverage interceptors to pre-treat water relevant to recycling docks, automotive work, cooking oil and degreasers

Recognizing water as a fundamental human right, we are committed to improving water quality and accessibility in our business and encouraging good practices from our partners across the supply chain. Facilities across our global operations provide Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services to employees and guests, in compliance with all applicable sanitation and hygiene-related laws and regulations at our properties. We support WASH services in communities in which we operate and donated nearly 50,000 hygiene kits to local charities in 2021.

In October 2021, MGM Resorts hosted the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s Water Stewardship Executive Summit at Bellagio Hotel and Casino. The summit’s purpose was to ask for commitment, collective action and leadership on the critical water issue and included key executive leadership in Southern Nevada, hospitality peers and other large organizations. Members from the Southern Nevada Water Authority and Las Vegas Valley Water District updated attendees on the status of water resources, discussed key conservation initiatives and solicited ideas on how to optimize the community’s water supply.

We focus our guest engagement strategy on guest room water use.

Examples include:

• Participation in linen and towel reuse
• Detailing water use for convention clients in event impact reports
• In-room messaging of positive environmental behaviors

We are committed to increasing employee awareness of water issues. In 2022 we launched MGM Planet Protectors, an employee network group (ENG) with a vision that every leader can be an environmental champion through environmental education and volunteerism. Regular activities (1) build an educational foundation of environmental sustainability (2) provide a forum for involvement in environmental initiatives and (3) create a network of environmental champions across the company. A monthly training series has featured experts from the Desert Research Institute and The Nature Conservancy, among others. A trail cleanup at Springs Preserve in May 2022 resulted in a new record with more than 90 bags of trash collected from the Las Vegas Wash.  

Water is a critical input in our value chain, particularly for agricultural products, linen and terry items and laundry services. We engage suppliers on their water conservation approaches, encouraging water conservation, sharing best practices, requesting information and data and hosting ongoing meetings to understand supplier efficiency measures. Please see our Supplier Code of Conduct for additional details on supplier engagement.

Alternative Water Supply

Lake Bellagio and the Fountains of Bellagio are a Las Vegas icon and one of the city’s most popular attractions.  Several times each day, the 8.5-acre man-made lake shoots streams of water into the air from 1,214 jets. Lake Bellagio is fed from two sources: (1) groundwater via well water rights controlled by Bellagio (300-acre feet) and (2) pool drainage from the “O” Show twice per year to make up for surface water evaporation. This avoids the use of critical Colorado River water and continues to contribute to Las Vegas tourism, attracting travelers from across the world.

Rainwater Harvesting

At MGM National Harbor, the roof is designed to collect rainwater and send it to a 700,000-gallon cistern. The harvested rainwater is stored, treated and used for cooling and other purposes, reducing our reliance on municipal water sources.

Efficient Irrigation Practices

In a typical year, golf courses in southern Nevada are responsible for approximately 6% of the community’s total consumptive water use. Given the ongoing drought conditions in southern Nevada and the southwest, golf courses are subject to water shortage mandates, including water budgets. As such, Shadow Creek Golf Course is taking steps to limit its consumptive water use.

Examples include:

• Diversifying water sources. Approximately half of the water used at Shadow Creek comes from private wells
• Implementing wetting agents to reduce water usage for irrigation
• Installing drip irrigation on all trees to limit overhead irrigation sprinkler usage, reducing water use in low-maintenance areas by up to 30%
• Using soil moisture sensor monitoring to provide only what is required for plant sustainability
• Using weather stations to provide real-time weather data, ensuring smart, data-based water requirement decisions
• Pursuing turf reduction and conversion in rough areas to low water use areas
• Completing all irrigation at night or early morning to reduce evaporative loss

Given our presence in Las Vegas, we recognize that the health of the Colorado River Basin is paramount. The Colorado River, spanning 1,450 miles, serves approximately 40 million people in Mexico and the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. Across these jurisdictions, Colorado River water is used for agricultural, residential, commercial and industrial activities. While the river is stressed, with more water leaving the watershed than entering, the Southern Nevada Water Authority has taken steps to adapt to stressed conditions, including Lake Mead facility improvements, water conservation programming and interstate collaboration.