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A grandiose plan for meeting Nevada’s water needs

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 23, 2008 at 8:31 am

Oh, how did I miss this! I have so many news alerts and places to look and here’s one that got by me, but didn’t get by Michael over at WaterWired. I just love grandiose solutions to water problems, and here’s another one. This guy has a plan for securing water for Nevada – all of Nevada, now – not just Las Vegas. From the Nevada Appeal, written by Fred Kessler, a general contractor in Carson City:

Given the impending effects of global climate change, the time has come to plan for Nevada’s future water needs, which will be substantial given the past three decade’s population growth. In Roman times when emperors did not have to run for re-election it was much easier to finance, design and construct large-scale public works projects than it is today, when politicians are more concerned with short-term political gain than long-term societal goals affecting future generations.

What is needed is an independent public water authority with a nine-member board to take charge of the situation. The governor, Assembly and Senate should each appoint a single member, and three members should be elected at-large from Southern Nevada and three members from Northern Nevada. This will ensure both equal representation and accountability to all of the people of Nevada. Once constituted, the independent public water authority should be relatively immune from political interference and be able to focus upon long-term intergenerational solutions to Nevada’s future water needs.

The water authority will have to begin the process of raising capital from (1) federal funds, (2) state funds and (3) private capital markets through the sale of public bonds for design, acquisition of land and right-of-way, and construction of public water works projects. The water authority should be a wholesaler of potable water selling to local municipal and private water districts, charging and collecting user fees for the water that they provide. These fees will be the revenue source from which to pay bond holders. The water authority bonds will range from 30 to 50 years in term depending upon financing requirements. User fees also will pay for ongoing operations, maintenance and administrative costs.

The water authority will need to develop vast uninterruptible supplies of drinking water to feed the growing Nevada population. The closest supply to both Northern and Southern Nevada of raw material from which to process potable water is of course the Pacific Ocean. Desalinization plants on the Pacific coast, cross-country pipelines and pumping stations across California and Nevada can produce a steady supply of potable water that is limited only by the maximum flow rate of the system. A northern leg running from the Pacific along the I-80 corridor to service the northwestern Nevada counties, and a southern leg running from the Pacific coast across California to service Clark County will provide potable water to Nevada’s main population centers.

Read the rest of Mr. Kessler’s plan in the Nevada Appeal by clicking here. You can check out Water Wired thoughts on it all by clicking here.

February 23, 2008 · Filed Under Grandiose water plans

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