U.S. Water News Online
CARSON CITY, Nev. -- The Southern Nevada Water Authority says in a final written report to the state's top water official that there is plenty of water to pump from rural areas to serve the growing Las Vegas population without harming the natural resources in those areas.
In arguments submitted by its lawyer, Paul Taggart, the authority said the federal government failed to show that wildlife refuges would be affected by the pumping of 17,000 acre feet of groundwater from valleys in Clark and Lincoln counties.
Stephen Palmer, an attorney representing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management, told state Engineer Hugh Ricci that drawing that much water will have an unknown effect on groundwater reserves in the Tikapoo and Three Lakes valleys.
Palmer said that once the effects are felt, it will be too late to correct them.
The written reports restated oral arguments made during hearings Ricci held two weeks ago.
Ricci has said he will decide by the end of the year whether to let Las Vegas tap groundwater rights it claimed 15 years ago. The decision could prompt court appeals no matter how he rules.
Taggart said only 2,000 acre feet of the 19,500 acre feet of water available in the Tikapoo and Three Lakes valleys have been appropriated, leaving enough for thirsty Las Vegas. An acre foot of water is about enough for a family for a year.
``There is no evidence the pumping of 17,000 acre feet would conflict with existing water rights,'' he said.
But Palmer said the federal government was concerned about the water level at Devil's Hole, the home of the endangered desert pupfish, as well as at critical environmental areas including Ash Meadows, Death Valley and the Desert National Wildlife Refuge.
Palmer said the concerns ``stem from obligations of the federal bureaus to protect the national areas ... and the water rights and resources upon which those natural areas depend.''
The water authority has accelerated plans to tap groundwater resources to the north of the city to supplement a drought-threatened supply from Lake Mead. The Colorado River reservoir provides almost all Las Vegas' drinking water, and Nevada is limited to drawing 300,000 acre feet of water per year.
The pumping plan is the first step in a long-range plan that could involve a $1 billion pipeline system capable of drawing water from as far north as White Pine County.
Return to the U.S. Water News Archives page Or Return to the U.S. Water News Homepage
Editor@uswaternews.com
*Your Name:
*Your Email:
*Friend's Email:
Use a comma to separate e-mail addresses:
*Your Comments:
Hi, I thought you might like to read this article.
*Required Fields