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Date set for Nevada water hearing on rural pumping plan

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2007 at 10:03 pm

From the Houston Chronicle:

Another effort by wealthy Reno businessman and powerbroker Harvey Whittemore to get rural Nevada water for a huge development he’s building about 50 miles north of Las Vegas is scheduled for a 5-day hearing starting March 31.

Whittemore’s Tuffy Ranch Properties LLC filed 54 applications with the state water engineer to change existing underground water rights in Lake Valley from irrigation to domestic use. About 11,000 acre-feet of the water would be for Whittemore’s Coyote Springs project, more than 100 miles to the south.

Tim Wilson, the hearing officer for the state water engineer, Tracy Taylor, set the hearing Tuesday after rejecting requests from some of the critics of the plan for more time to prepare their cases.

The applications have been protested by White Pine County and by the federal Bureau of Land Management. Other critics include Louis Benezet of Pioche and Jo Anne Garrett of Baker, both opponents of efforts to export rural Nevada groundwater.

Benezet said the water transfer plan is one of many efforts to shift groundwater from eastern Nevada south to high-growth areas, and it’s not just someone saying, “I’m going to water this field instead of that field” in the same valley.

The water rights being pursued by Whittemore represent about 20% of what he needs for his 150,000 home, golf-course centered project, to be located 50 miles north of Las Vegas.

To read the full text of this article from the Houston Chronicle, click here.

October 30, 2007 · Filed Under Southwest Water Issues

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