Proposals could mean big change for Colorado water
Posted by: Maven on February 5, 2012 at 6:01 amFrom the Capital Press:
“An opponent of hydraulic fracturing south of Denver is leading an effort to have voters decide on two proposals that critics say would change the way Colorado has handled water rights since 1876.
The Colorado Constitution says unappropriated water in natural streams is public property, but water can be diverted for beneficial uses. It then outlines the state’s “first come, first serve” approach to having water users with older, or senior water rights take what they’re due from limited rivers or streams before those with junior water rights. … “
Continue reading from the Capital Press by clicking here.
Southern Nevada Water Authority seeks more groundwater from two rural counties
Posted by: Maven on February 3, 2012 at 7:11 amFrom the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
“They stop short of asking for it all, but Las Vegas water officials are urging the state to grant them far more rural groundwater than they got the last time around.
In new documents now in the hands of State Engineer Jason King, the Southern Nevada Water Authority lays out its plans to eventually siphon up to 105,000 acre-feet of groundwater a year from four valleys in Lincoln and White Pine counties. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Review-Journal by clicking here.
Las Vegas: Great Basin Water Network says conservation is the answer, not pipeline
Posted by: Maven on January 31, 2012 at 6:25 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“The Great Basin Water Network says Las Vegas should impose tighter conservation restrictions and raise water rates to discourage waste instead of building a $15 billion pipeline to shift water from rural Nevada to Clark County.
The network, a major opponent of the pipeline, said protesters feel “approval of the applications will sanction and enhance the willful waste of water allowed, if not encouraged by the Las Vegas Valley Water District, contrary to public policy.” … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Southern Nevada Water Authority scales back rural water request
Posted by: Maven on January 28, 2012 at 7:27 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“The Southern Nevada Water Authority has scaled back its request for water rights in rural Nevada and suggested some water be set aside for growth in the four rural valleys where the water resides.
In its recommendation, the authority said 104,854 acre-feet should be allocated from Eastern Nevada for the needs of Southern Nevada. That’s down from its initial request of 125,975 acre-feet.
The Water Authority recommends the state engineer set aside 450 acre-feet in the valleys to accommodate future growth or agricultural needs. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Low snowpack signals water crisis at Lake Mead
Posted by: Maven on January 23, 2012 at 6:23 amFrom the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
“Mother Nature is a fickle mistress.
One year removed from near-record snow levels that sent 4 trillion gallons of much-needed meltwater into Lake Mead, winter has gotten off to a terrible start in the mountains that feed the Colorado River. Conditions are so dry that water supply forecasters have slashed their projections for Lake Mead by a whopping 2.45 million acre-feet in the past month alone.
That’s 24 vertical feet of water gone — poof! — from what had been a promising forecast for the valley’s primary source of water. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Review-Journal by clicking here.
Column: Addiction to growth has left Southern Nevada Water Authority in financial straits
Posted by: Maven on January 23, 2012 at 6:21 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun, this column by J. Patrick Coolican:
“Breaking news! There is no free lunch!
OK, this is actually not news to most of you. But that’s the take-away from the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s troubled finances and need to raise water rates to pay its significant obligations.
In fiscal year 2005-06, the water authority had revenue of $371 million. In fiscal year 2010-11, revenue dropped to $210 million, a loss of 43 percent, or $160 million.
How did this happen? … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
600 Nevada flood victims get share of settlement
Posted by: Maven on January 16, 2012 at 6:14 amFrom the Associated Press:
“About 600 victims of a flood caused by the failure of a century-old irrigation canal in Fernley in 2008 have received their share of a $10 million settlement.
The settlement funds distributed last month stemmed from class-action lawsuits against the city of Fernley, Lyon County and the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District board.
Under the settlement, Fernley paid $5 million and Lyon County $1.3 million, while insurance companies paid $3.8 million on behalf of seven irrigation district board members, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported (http://on.rgj.com/xf3EOT).
The Jan. 5, 2008 breach of the earthen Truckee Canal sent a wall of water into Fernley, located about 30 miles east of Reno, and inundated homes. The plaintiffs allege the flood was caused by inadequate maintenance and operation of the canal. … “
Continue reading from the Associated Press by clicking here.
Nevada’s water fight — slow-motion war over a thirsty future
Posted by: Maven on January 11, 2012 at 6:33 amFrom E&E Publishing:
“Denys Koyle parked an 8-foot bucket on the lot in front of her small motel, here on a lonely stretch of pavement crossing the Utah-Nevada line. A sign on the bucket reads: “Don’t Let Las Vegas Destroy Nevada. Stop the Water Pipeline.”
Koyle is an unlikely activist. She’s quick to point out that she’s no tree-hugger. But as she bustles between the Border Inn’s grill and gas station, she complains about the long reach and powerful thirst of Las Vegas. These are problems she thinks will put her area, Snake Valley, at risk.
“It’s a hundred-years’ war,” she says. “It’s exhausting.” … “
Continue reading from E&E Publishing by clicking here.
Geologist: Snow runoff could be cause of quakes at Lake Mead
Posted by: Maven on January 5, 2012 at 7:28 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“All that Colorado snow runoff that poured into Lake Mead last spring and summer may have done more than raise the water level.
It have have triggered the earth to quake beneath the lake.
Lee Allison, Arizona state geologist and director of the state’s geological survey, said he began to notice the small quakes — ranging in magnitude from 1.5 to 2.2 — in late April. He tallied about two dozen in the months that followed and blogged about many as they occurred. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
More water for Las Vegas means more resentment in rural areas
Posted by: Maven on January 4, 2012 at 7:41 amFrom Stateline:
“For Jason King, Nevada’s state engineer, the final months of 2011 were hardly a breeze. On top of his usual workload, he and his resource-strapped office, which manages parched Nevada’s precious water resources, oversaw six weeks of hearings on a controversial permit application, punctuated by often impassioned testimony from 82 witnesses.
But 2012 will be more stressful. The longtime civil servant has just over three months to digest tens of thousands of documents and transcript pages as he prepares to answer a decades-old question: If the Mountain States keep getting drier, how will Nevada keep Las Vegas, its economic juggernaut, from going thirsty? … “
Continue reading from Stateline by clicking here.
Las Vegas: Sloan Channel issue ‘bugs’ nearby homeowners
Posted by: Maven on December 28, 2011 at 11:23 pmFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“First came the stench. Now it’s the gnats and midges.
Water released into the Sloan Channel from the new wastewater treatment plant in North Las Vegas is making life a little more difficult for those who live near the concrete-lined channel.
Fungus gnats and chronomid midges, both of which live near rotting vegetation and damp areas, are growing in numbers along the channel, where they had never been seen before. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Thousands file comments on Las Vegas water plan
Posted by: Maven on December 20, 2011 at 6:26 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“Allowing Las Vegas to pump millions of gallons of water from two rural counties would be a $15 billion blunder and destroy some of the best parts of Nevada, says one unhappy resident.
But Jan Jones, a senior vice president of Caesars Entertainment and former Las Vegas mayor, says permitting the transfer of unused groundwater from east-central Nevada “will supply a critical future water resource for the Las Vegas valley,”
Those are a sampling of the 22,000 to 23,000 letter comments received by state Engineer Jason King, who has to decide whether to permit the Southern Nevada Water Authority to drill wells in White Pine and Lincoln Counties. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Las Vegas: To pay for lake intakes, water bills going up again
Posted by: Maven on December 6, 2011 at 7:05 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“Next spring, water bills will rise to help pay the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s mounting debt used to fund some $3.3 billion in pumps, pipes and intakes installed over the past several years.
The fee, which comes on top of other recent increases, is needed because the old way of paying off water utility debt — connection fees paid by developers — has dried up in the recession. Consider that in fiscal year 2005-06, the Water Authority collected about $188 million in connection fees. This year, connection fees will total $11 million.
Given those numbers, few dispute the need for the increase. The debate will instead focus on the shape the fee increase takes. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Groups filing opposition to Vegas water pipeline
Posted by: Maven on November 30, 2011 at 5:48 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“Conservation groups and others have begun a public comment drive to persuade Nevada’s top state water official to reject the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s request to pump groundwater from the eastern part of the state and pipe it to Las Vegas.
More than 21,000 comments were sent Tuesday to State Engineer Jason King in Carson City opposing the Southern Nevada Water Authority project, according to officials with the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Critics blast Las Vegas pipeline proposal
Posted by: Maven on November 20, 2011 at 6:51 amFrom the Deseret News:
“An attorney for the LDS Church called a proposal for tapping ground water in the dry regions of Nevada and pumping it to Las Vegas a disaster with good intentions.
“It’s the cotton candy of good intentions with nothing good at its core,” attorney Paul Hermonskie said Friday. “It does not provide the protection my client must have.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is just one of hundreds of protestors who have lined up against the proposal for tapping groundwater aquifers in eastern Nevada. Hermonskie was among several who testified Friday’s closing hearing convened by the Nevada State Engineer’s Office. Hearings first began in September in which hundreds of documents were submitted and more than 80 people have testified. … “
Continue reading from the Deseret News by clicking here.
Las Vegas water pipeline project hearing wraps up
Posted by: Maven on November 19, 2011 at 6:12 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“After hearing 82 witnesses and considering more than 10,000 pages of exhibits over 24 days, the state wrapped up its hearing Friday on the application of the Southern Nevada Water Authority to pipe millions of gallons of water from Eastern Nevada to meet the growing population needs of the Las Vegas area.
In closing arguments, Paul Taggart representing the water authority said the 125,976 acre feet from the four valleys will not turn the areas into a dust bowl and the project is environmentally sound.
But lawyers representing opposing interests argued the project would deplete the underground resources of Eastern Nevada, stymie its economic development and said there should be greater water conservation efforts in the Las Vegas area. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
MORE: Groundwater Pumping Plan Now In Hands Of State Engineer As Marathon Hearing Concludes, from the Nevada News Bureau
Las Vegas: Even conservationists not worried about water park being a drain
Posted by: Maven on November 18, 2011 at 7:12 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“For those with visions of a cool summer escape, a new water park in Las Vegas has seemed like a mirage in the seven years since Wet ’n Wild drained its last drop of water.
Then, with relief in sight, this week’s announcement of construction on an $18 million water park in the western valley immediately drew the ire of some water-conscious residents.
How could the region sustain a labyrinth of slides and pools when homeowners can’t even water their lawns without restrictions? … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Southern Nevada Water Authority defends community’s conservation efforts
Posted by: Maven on November 12, 2011 at 6:32 amFrom Water Efficiency:
“In response to an Oakland, California-based organization’s criticism of the Las Vegas Valley’s ongoing water conservation efforts, an attorney for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) today questioned a report by the Pacific Institute that criticized Southern Nevada’s efforts to reduce water use—initiatives that have already yielded a 30 percent reduction in per capita water use.
Following direct testimony by Pacific Institute President Peter Gleick, in which he claimed Southern Nevada’s conservation efforts were “weak and inadequate,” attorney Steve Sims identified numerous areas in which the institute’s report, “Hidden Oasis: Water Conservation and Efficiency in Las Vegas” grossly overstated additional potential water resources that may be gleaned through additional conservation. … “
Continue reading from Water Efficiency by clicking here.
Chance of Rain blog on Las Vegas pipeline hearings: “Isn’t it true …”
Posted by: Maven on November 10, 2011 at 6:00 amFrom the Chance of Rain blog:
“It was a long day yesterday and watching a lawyer for Las Vegas question a water analyst from a California wasn’t supposed to be part of it, until it was. Seldom are courtroom proceedings in real life better than they are on, say, “The Good Wife.” But for the first half of Wednesday, November 9th, 2011, in the on-going Carson City hearings over whether or not to grant a Las Vegas pipeline water from four rural Nevada valleys, reality won.
Appearing for Las Vegas was Steven Sims, a New Mexico-based lawyer better known in California as counsel for the Westlands Water District, the Central Valley corporate farm interest dedicated to overturning the Endangered Species Act the better to siphon massive amounts of water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta without regard to water needs of fish.
Appearing as an expert witness for opponents of the pipeline was Peter Gleick, president of the Oakland-based Pacific Institute and a water policy analyst famous for having received a “genius award” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The Pacific Institute studies water use throughout the West with a particular eye on finding ways to conserve water and energy. … “
Continue reading from the Chance of Rain blog by clicking here.
Nevada’s recovery depends on a reliable water supply, says commentary
Posted by: Maven on November 8, 2011 at 5:55 amFrom the Reno Gazette-Journal, this commentary by Pat Mulroy:
“Southern Nevada’s nascent economic recovery — which is a critical part of the entire state’s recovery — is inextricably linked to a reliable water supply. As the agency tasked with securing water for seven out of 10 Nevadans, the Southern Nevada Water Authority works to identify supplies that can meet demand half a century into the future.
Little more than 10 years ago, our water supply seemed assured. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. A decade-long drought has depleted Lake Mead, which supplies water to much of the Southwest.
As the drought intensified, it became clear that dependence on the Colorado River — which currently represents 90 percent of Southern Nevada’s water supply — is perilous for our community. To reduce our exposure to drought, the SNWA activated long-held groundwater applications in east-central Nevada. … “
Continue reading from the Reno Gazette Journal by clicking here.
Las Vegas pipeline would upset balance, says commentary
Posted by: Maven on November 6, 2011 at 5:53 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun, this commentary by Ed Naranjo, a council member and the administrator of the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation in Utah:
“Pat Mulroy’s article, “Diversity, balance needed for Nevada’s future” published Oct. 9, describes the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s plea for permission to build a massive groundwater pipeline that will permanently alter the Great Basin environment, affect local communities and further destabilize economies across southcentral Nevada. This pipeline has nothing to do with “balance” in Nevada. My tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute, as well as other tribes in the Great Basin, have stewarded these valleys and springs for millennia, and we see this proposal as a direct threat to our very survival, as well as the natural balance found in these places today.
Diversity and balance are essential for a healthy economy and environment. The Goshute tribe’s reverence for these qualities are the reasons the Great Basin ecosystem has sustained Goshute people and culture for millennia. In the modern era, our isolation has benefited us and helped us to retain strong cultural ties to Goshute land and to our traditions, while maintaining a resolute determination to protect our ways. Ironically, water, which is the limiting resource of life within our basin, is the very thing Mulroy and the authority are seeking to extract from these lands. … “
Continue reading this commentary at the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Las Vegas pipeline plan: Court ruling emboldens water grab opponents
Posted by: Maven on November 1, 2011 at 7:50 amFrom Las Vegas’ Channel 8:
“Opponents of a plan to siphon billions of gallons of rural groundwater and pipe it to Las Vegas told the state water engineer Monday there simply isn’t as much water as the Southern Nevada Water Authority claims.
Draining the water could turns parts of Nevada and Utah into a dead zone, they said.
For years, ranchers and environmentalists have said the water grab could decimate the environment, but it appeared there was little they could do to stop the project. That is no longer the case.Opponents recently gathered in Ely to plan their strategy and talk about a new weapon at their disposal — a court ruling. … “
Continue reading from Channel 8 by clicking here.
Inkstain blog: A bit of history – when US Colorado River water users feared Mexico
Posted by: Maven on October 31, 2011 at 7:33 amFrom the Inkstain blog:
“There’s a tangent in Henry Brean’s Las Vegas Review-Journal story [link available on click-through] about desalination and Las Vegas this morning that provides a reminder of just how far we’ve come in the power structure surrounding the management of the Colorado River in the last century.
The main thrust of the story is a discussion of the possibility of coastal desal as an alternative to the controversial Las Vegas groundwater pipeline proposal. Pipeline opponents have been arguing that desal is a reasonable alternative – not directly, but through water swaps through which Vegas would fund coastal desal for California or Mexico water users, and get a share of their Colorado River water in exchange. … “
Continue reading from the Inkstain blog by clicking here.
Herrenknecht TBM gets ready to drill Lake Mead
Posted by: Maven on October 20, 2011 at 8:53 pmFrom Engineering News Record (hat tip to the Inkstain blog):
“Southern Nevada’s newest piece of mega-hardware—a custom, $25-million Herrenknecht tunneling boring machine—makes its long-awaited underground debut later this year.
The machine works like a giant mechanical earthworm, gnawing through dirt, rock and muck, forming a protective tunnel that will eventually channel raw Colorado River water onto nearby treatment plants before being pumped to homes and businesses throughout the Las Vegas valley. … “
Continue reading from Engineering News Record by clicking here.
MORE LAS VEGAS NEWS: The Water Wired blog has part 1 of an interview with Pay Mulroy – click here.
Southern Nevada Water Authority wraps up at pipeline hearing
Posted by: Maven on October 15, 2011 at 7:32 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“A predicted or perceived water shortage in Southern Nevada will have a devastating effect not only in Las Vegas, but in the entire state, an economic analyst has testified.
Jeremy Aguero was the last of 25 witnesses presented by the Southern Nevada Water Authority over three weeks to discuss a plan that involves pumping millions of gallons a year from two rural counties to the Las Vegas area.
The hearing was before state engineer Jason King, who plans to make a ruling early next year on the application for 125,976 acre-feet a year to serve the growing needs of Southern Nevada. The hearing is now in two weeks of recess and the parties protesting the water transfer will begin their case then. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Nevada leaders largely silent on pipeline controversy
Posted by: Maven on October 14, 2011 at 7:15 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“Last week, the public got a chance to voice its opinions on the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s pipeline project.
The state’s elected officials, meanwhile, have for years been largely silent on the proposal to send water from rural Nevada to Las Vegas, trying to find a neutral position on the project.
Regardless of the outcome, the project could have enormous repercussions. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
SNWA’s water plan is short-sighted, says commentary
Posted by: Maven on October 12, 2011 at 7:00 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun, this commentary by Bob Mrowka, ecologist and conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity:
“The Southern Nevada Water Authority’s proposed water pipeline project is ill-conceived, morally and ethically wrong and unneeded.
The pipeline, and especially the ancient groundwater to fill it, would destroy natural ecosystems and human communities far beyond the physical locations of the pipeline or well locations.
The fossil groundwater would be pumped from aquifers that are connected systems, and impacts in one basin would have far-reaching impacts on the rest of the basins of the system. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Las Vegas pipeline: Will state engineer regard public opinion?
Posted by: Maven on October 12, 2011 at 6:58 amFrom the Elko (Nevada) Daily Free Press:
“They say politics makes strange bedfellows, and Nevada’s water politics certainly are no exception.
Protesters from a wide range of backgrounds — from ranchers to American Indians to the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada — will descend on Carson City early Friday morning to let the state engineer know what they think of the Great Southern Nevada Water Grab.
“By now, you’ve most likely heard about Southern Nevada Water Authority’s plan to pump 57 billion gallons of water each year through 300 miles of pipelines that rip through Nevada. SNWA’s water grab would have disastrous consequence …” wrote Scot Rutledge, executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, in an email announcement earlier this week. … “
Continue reading from the Elko Daily Free Press by clicking here.
Tug-of-war between urban, rural emerges in Las Vegas pipeline duel
Posted by: Maven on October 9, 2011 at 7:07 amFrom the Salt Lake Tribune:
“Somebody’s future is going to dry up, dozens of people testified Friday in a water-rights hearing for a Las Vegas water pipeline.
Will it be the ranchers, small towns and tribes of western Utah and eastern Nevada who fear groundwater pumping from their valleys? Or will it be the casinos and, in better economic times, construction crews that fuel southern Nevada’s economy?
Or is there — as Vegas water officials assert — enough to go around?
Both sides lined up at microphones in four Nevada cities to make their case to Nevada’s state engineer, who is considering the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s applications for groundwater from Spring Valley and associated aquifers near Ely, Nev. The utility also is seeking water from the state-border-straddling Snake Valley, for which the engineer will conduct a separate hearing next year. … “
Continue reading from the Salt Lake Tribune by clicking here.
Pat Mulroy: Diversity, balance needed for Nevada’s future
Posted by: Maven on October 9, 2011 at 7:06 amPat Mulroy makes her case for the pipeline project in the Las Vegas Sun:
“Our community has reached a critical crossroads. From an economic standpoint, it would appear that Southern Nevada is slowly beginning to recover. However, job-creating investment has been slow to materialize. As we have learned over the years through numerous interactions with the financial and investment communities, Southern Nevada’s economic recovery is inextricably linked to the certainty of a reliable water supply.
As the agency tasked with ensuring that safe, reliable water supply, the Southern Nevada Water Authority has worked diligently to anticipate future water needs and identify supplies that can meet those needs half a century into the future.
Little more than 10 years ago, our water supply seemed assured. Lake Mead was brimming and we had solid agreements with neighboring states that would meet our needs for decades. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. … “
Continue reading Pat Mulroy’s commentary at the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Las Vegas Sun editorial: Water pipeline will be good for both Clark County and the state
Posted by: Maven on October 9, 2011 at 7:05 amThe Las Vegas Sun pens this supportive editorial:
“Last November, the water level in Lake Mead dropped to a place it hadn’t been since 1937 — when the lake was originally being filled.
A long drought and population growth in the Southwest had taken a toll: Lake Mead had fallen more than 130 feet over the previous dozen years. That wasn’t good news for anyone who depends on the Colorado River, which feeds Lake Mead. Under the law that governs the river, if the lake’s elevation hits 1,075 feet, a shortage is declared, bringing about limits on how much water can be drawn out of the lake. Last November, the lake was within about seven feet of that mark.
A wet winter and good snow in the Rockies brought lake levels up, but that shouldn’t lessen the concern. The lake is still 114 feet lower than it was in 2000, and there is still the potential for it to drop again. A 2008 study by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the University of California, San Diego, said there was a 50-50 chance that Lake Mead could be drained by 2021 due to growth and climate change. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Launce Rake: The obvious results of a ‘water grab’
Posted by: Maven on October 9, 2011 at 7:04 amBut wait a minute, says Launce Rake, commentary at the Las Vegas Sun:
“What seems obvious to anyone who has spent time in beautiful rural Nevada, and is backed up by volumes of research from federal and academic researchers, is the truth that removing the water that sustains the wildlife of the Great Basin means nothing less than enormous environmental change.
What seems obvious to independent scientists, researchers and the residents of the Great Basin is disputed, of course, by the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which wants the right to pump 41 billion gallons of water annually from rural Nevada and Utah, and to charge Southern Nevada businesses and residents billions of dollars to do so.
According to independent analyses, including research from federal agencies and SNWA’s own contractors, SNWA would drain the groundwater below the existing roots of vegetation in an area of 19,000 square miles, a region the size of Vermont. … “
Continue reading this commentary at the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
MORE: Residents weight in at Las Vegas Sun.
Public passionately weighs in on Las Vegas plan to pump rural groundwater south
Posted by: Maven on October 8, 2011 at 6:37 amFrom the Nevada News Bureau:
“Supporters of a plan by the Southern Nevada Water Authority to pump more than 125,00-acre feet of groundwater from rural areas of the state to slake the thirst of urban residents said today the project is critical to keeping the state’s economic engine running.
But opponents said the groundwater pumping plan being considered by the Nevada State Engineer will be an environmental disaster for rural eastern Nevada, harming wildlife and altering the way of life of residents from Caliente to Ely.
Numerous representatives of Native American tribes also spoke in opposition to the water importation plan, arguing it would permanently alter their way of life as well. About 40 Goshute, Shoshone and Paiute tribal members traveled by bus from the Utah/Nevada border area to attend and speak at the hearing in Carson City. … “
Continue reading from the Nevada News Bureau by clicking here.
MORE COVERAGE:
- Dozens testify at SNWA water permit hearing, from the Nevada Appeal
- Casinos, developers square off against rural Nevadans at water pipeline hearing, from the Las Vegas Sun
Utahns to protest water pipeline to Las Vegas
Posted by: Maven on October 5, 2011 at 7:24 amFrom the Salt Lake Tribune:
“Utahns worried about a proposal to supply Las Vegas with groundwater piped from the Utah-Nevada line plan to testify and protest against the project this week.
The Nevada state engineer is hearing testimony on the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s application for water from Spring Valley and associated watersheds Friday in Carson City, Nev., with teleconference testimony also coming from Las Vegas, Ely and Caliente, Nev.
Representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation have chartered a bus to Carson City for the event, fearful that drawing down Spring Valley will affect underground flows in their reservation south of Wendover. … “
Continue reading from the Salt Lake Tribune by clicking here.
RELATED: Goshute Tribe will join protest of Vegas water hearing in Carson on Friday, from The Record-Courier
Southern Nevada Water Authority head getting review by county
Posted by: Maven on October 4, 2011 at 5:58 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“For the first time, Clark County will evaluate the job performance of Pat Mulroy, head of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which county commissioners oversee.
Mulroy has never been formally evaluated since signing an employment contract in 1999.
The contract states she should be evaluated throughout the year. Without a formal evaluation, the contract also states, her contract is automatically renewed for two more years. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
As hearings begin, Water Authority claims Las Vegas pipeline would benefit rural Nevada
Posted by: Maven on September 27, 2011 at 7:49 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“Pumping water from Eastern Nevada to Las Vegas will enrich, not destroy, the small rural communities where the water is located, an attorney for the Southern Nevada Water Authority said as hearings got under way on the proposed pipeline project.
Opening arguments were presented today on the Water Authority’s application for 125,976 acre feet of water from four valleys in rural Nevada for Southern Nevada.
Six weeks have been set aside for the hearings and Hearing Officer Susan Joseph-Taylor has set Oct. 7 for the public to testify. The hearings are being shown via video conference to Las Vegas and Ely. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
From the Nevada News Bureau:
“Pat Mulroy, general manager of the authority, said the plan to acquire unappropriated groundwater rights in rural Nevada to supplement Southern Nevada’s supply of Colorado River water is absolutely essential to the economic future of the region.
Southern Nevada needs to ensure it has a diverse supply of water for that time in the not-so-distant future when the states sharing the Colorado River basin fully use their allotments, she said. The river is over-appropriated and a prolonged drought could create a shortage in coming years, Mulroy said.
Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, testifies today at the agency’s water rights hearing. / Photo: Sean Whaley, Nevada News Bureau.
Investors from around the world, from Asia to Dubai, won’t invest in Las Vegas without assurances that there will be water available in Southern Nevada well into the future, she said. … “
Continue reading from the Nevada News Bureau by clicking here. (Article includes audio clips of some of the testimony.)
From the Chance of Rain blog:
“Pat Mulroy seemed haggard and uncharacteristically subdued as hearings commenced today in Carson City over whether to allow Las Vegas to pump groundwater from four rural valleys to support more casinos and houses in Southern Nevada. Yet, as she took more than half a day’s questioning, the performance today by Southern Nevada Water Authority’s controversial general manager built into one of her best. She all but annihilated suggestions by opponents that increased conservation, water trades from California or desalination were magic bullets that would obviate the need for rural groundwater to keep Las Vegas in business. Anyone who doubts her mastery of Colorado River politics should seek out copies of today’s testimony. … “
Continue reading from the Chance of Rain blog by clicking here.
MORE COVERAGE:
- Battle over big Vegas water pipeline gets hearing, from the AP via the Silicon Valley Mercury News
- State Hears Debate on Water Pipeline, from KLAS Channel 8
Las Vegas: Water hearing begins Monday
Posted by: Maven on September 26, 2011 at 7:18 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“Opponents label it a “water grab” and say there’s no crisis facing Las Vegas. Supporters maintain the predicted growth of Southern Nevada isn’t being managed and the region’s economy could drop by 10 percent unless more water is imported.
The two sides square off 9 a.m., Monday, Sept. 26, on the application of the Southern Nevada Water Authority to build a pipeline to pump 125,976 acre feet of water from four valleys in rural Nevada. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
MORE: The Chance of Rain blog has links to the webcast, links to witness lists and more.
EVEN MORE: Report Describes Worst-case Financial Scenario for Proposed Nevada Pipeline, from Cirlce of Blue Water News
Long-awaited Las Vegas water-pipeline decision to follow hearings
Posted by: Maven on September 21, 2011 at 5:52 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“Gov. Brian Sandoval is taking a hands-off approach to upcoming hearings on a plan by Las Vegas officials to pump millions of gallons of water to Southern Nevada from rural eastern Nevada.
“I will leave it to the administrative process,” said the governor, who added that he’s confident state engineer Jason King will reach a “learned decision” on whether to approve the applications of the Southern Nevada Water Authority in spite of objections from rural residents. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Las Vegas: Want your grass back? Plant it, water authority says; New policy reverses a key water-agency saving program
Posted by: Maven on September 16, 2011 at 7:32 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
“The Southern Nevada Water Authority approved a measure Thursday that some say could undermine years of water conservation efforts.
In a 6-1 vote, the Water Authority agreed to allow homeowners and businesses to convert desert landscaping back to turf if a property owner is willing to reimburse the agency for rebates paid to induce the change to so-called xeriscape, effectively reversing a key agency water-saving program. … “
Continue reading from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Feds’ snail study ups ante in Vegas water fight
Posted by: Maven on September 14, 2011 at 7:41 amFrom the Riverside Press-Enterprise:
“Federal wildlife officials have agreed to consider federal protections for more than two dozen species of tiny snails in Nevada, Utah and California that environmentalists say are threatened by a big water pipeline project for thirsty Las Vegas.
Backers of the 300-mile pipeline said Tuesday they are not concerned that a federal listing of the aquatic mollusks would jeopardize the $3.5 billion project.
But opponents said the move bolsters their legal arsenal in what they expect to be another court battle aimed at stopping the transfer of billions of gallons of water a year from aquifers beneath east-central Nevada and western Utah. … “
Continue reading from the Riverside Press-Enterprise by clicking here.
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