U.S. Water News Online
LAS VEGAS -- Popular sites could be affected if southern Nevada water officials are allowed to pump groundwater from just outside Great Basin National Park and pipe it to Las Vegas, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report.
Lehman Caves and portions of three main creeks that drain the park were identified as "likely susceptible" to the effects of large-scale groundwater withdrawals proposed by the Southern Nevada Water Authority, according to the report.
Researchers said pumping could possibly but wasn't likely to affect other creeks and springs in and around the vast park in east-central Nevada. The study did not address the extent to which areas could be affected.
"They're not saying how much and they're not saying how fast. Those are additional questions to be asked," Great Basin National Park Superintendent Cindy Nielsen told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The report comes as water authority officials prepare for a three-week state hearing in September on groundwater applications in Spring Valley.
The water authority is seeking state permission to extract groundwater from Spring Valley and Snake Valley, two basins just east of Great Basin National Park, and send it some 200 miles south to Las Vegas.
Nielsen said she expects discussions of the USGS findings during the hearing, but said she did not view the document as a roadblock to the pipeline project.
She said the water authority and Park Service were continuing discussions and were committed to preventing negative environmental impacts in and around the 120-square-mile park.
Water authority General Manager Pat Mulroy called the report a "worst-case interpretation."
"This data collection was done by the GS for the Park Service, and the Park Service is seeking maximum protections," she said.
The 77,000-acre Great Basin National Park was established in 1986. Its terrain ranges from a valley floor at about 5,000 feet above sea level to the 13,063-foot summit of Wheeler Peak, the second highest point in Nevada.
The park drew about 78,400 visitors last year. Only three other national parks outside of Alaska attracted fewer visitors.
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