Rmplmnz

This is probably a good solution for Las Vegas....I would be hesitate to recommend chemical fertilizers universally.

For gardeners living in an area with periodic heavy rainfall the runoff from chemical fertilizers causes big problems.

We live in Tampa:

Tampa Bay, the largest open-water estuary in Florida, extends approximately 35 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico and is 5 to 10 miles wide along most of its length. Four segments make up the open-water section. Hillsborough Bay, the smallest of these segments, receives runoff from a large portion of the city of Tampa. The Hillsborough and Alafia Rivers drain into Hillsborough Bay, as do a number of smaller tributaries. Middle Tampa Bay receives runoff from the Little Manatee River and drainage from smaller tributaries along the Hillsborough and Pinellas County coastlines. Old Tampa Bay receives runoff from portions of Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and Tampa. Lower Tampa Bay, which has the largest volume of the four segments, connects the mouth of the bay to the Gulf of Mexico. The Manatee River, which receives runoff from the city of Bradenton, flows into the southern portion of this bay segment.

Four other segments constitute the drainage basins of coastal tributaries that flow directly to the bay: the Coastal Lower Tampa Bay area lies along the eastern side of Lower Tampa Bay, the Coastal Middle Tampa Bay area consists of the eastern and western shores of Middle Tampa Bay, the Coastal Hillsborough Bay area borders Hillsborough Bay to the northeast, and the Coastal Old Tampa Bay area surrounds the northern and western sides of Old Tampa Bay.

The Hillsborough, Alafia, Manatee, and Little Manatee Rivers contribute significant flows to Tampa Bay, including flows from at least three second-magnitude springs (with discharges of 6.46 to 64.6 million gallons per day): Crystal and Sulphur Springs on the Hillsborough River and Lithia Springs on the Alafia River.

Tampa Bay Watershed - Hillsborough River, Alafia River, Manatee River - Florida's Water: Ours to Protect

There are numerous other threads that have hotly debated the use of chemical fertilizers (just do a search and you will get varying opinions).

A quick google search on run-off will yields a lot of hits:

"How Fertilizers Harm Earth More Than Help Your Lawn"

Chemical runoff from residential and farm products affects rivers, streams and even the ocean

July 20, 2009 | 14

Synthetic agricultural chemicals became commonplace beginning with the s--called "Green Revolution" in the second half of the 20th century, but their benefits haven't come without environmental costs—namely the wholesale pollution of most of our streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and even coastal areas, as these synthetic chemicals run-off into the nearby waterways.
Fertilizer Runoff Overwhelms Streams and Rivers--Creating Vast "Dead Zones": Scientific American

Fertilizer Runoff Overwhelms Streams and Rivers--Creating Vast "Dead Zones"

The nation's waterways are brimming with excess nitrogen from fertilizer--and plans to boost biofuel production threaten to aggravate an already serious situation
Fertilizer Runoff Overwhelms Streams and Rivers--Creating Vast "Dead Zones": Scientific American