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Las Vegas pipeline plan: SNWA outlines ‘early warning’ system to watch for impacts of water withdrawal

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 7, 2008 at 7:09 am

Very little coming out in the news about the hearings underway in Carson City, Nevada, regarding Las Vegas’s plan to pump groundwater from rural Nevada counties.  But here’s one story I found from the Las Vegas Sun:

The Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge is 5,380 acres of marshes, open water, native grass meadows and cultivated croplands that draw about 30,000 visitors annually.  Also an important habitat for birds, the refuge, about 90 miles north of Las Vegas, lies west of the Delamar and Dry Lake valleys, from which the Southern Nevada Water Authority wants to pump water.

To keep the refuge protected, the authority and bureaus of the U.S. Interior Department have reached an agreement to address concerns about how lowering the water table would affect the refuge, a stopping point for waterfowl and other migratory birds as they travel south in fall and north in early spring.

Kay Brothers, deputy general manager of energy and operations for the water authority, outlined the agreement Monday at the opening of two weeks of hearings by the authority on its plan to siphon 39,750 acre-feet from Delamar, Dry Lake and Cave Lake valleys in eastern Nevada. (One acre-foot equals the volume of water necessary to cover an acre with 1 foot of water.)

Brothers told State Engineer Tracy Taylor an early warning system will be established to protect the wildlife refuge’s special species and environment.  Nine wells will be drilled to monitor the water tables. If any adverse effect is discovered, water withdrawals would be reduced or shut off. Annual reports on the test wells will be given to Taylor’s office.

In exchange for the agreement, the Interior Department and its bureaus, including the Fish and Wildlife Service, will drop a protest to the drawdown of the water.

To read the rest of this story from the Las Vegas Sun, click here.

February 7, 2008 · Filed Under Las Vegas & Nevada, Southwest Water Issues

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