What the two groups discovered is that they - at least the dozen or so lawmakers who showed up - are largely in agreement: The proposal by the Southern Nevada Water Authority must at least be slowed until an ongoing U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) analysis of the region's groundwater resources, including those that sit under Utah's west desert, is completed next year.
“All of us want growth and the good things that come from it. But at what price?” asked Harry Mortensen, a Nevada assemblyman from Las Vegas. “The big issue is, we really don't know yet what this [project] will do. The only way we will know is to test. If the tests show there's enough water for everybody, great. If not, we need to start looking at other alternatives."
Rural Nevada lawmakers have been battling the project for the past two years. It is only more recently that southern Nevada-based legislators began asking more questions about the plan for wells connecting to a long pipeline.
“Frankly, a lot of us don't understand it, but as we do come to understand it, we'll make better decisions,” said Barn Maybe, another Las Vegas area assemblyman. “People in Las Vegas are tired of all the growth. In the end, I think we'll do the right thing.”
Southern Nevada water officials have sought to expedite the project in order to ensure it is operational by 2015, about the time Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager Pat Mulroy says Clark County's current water resources will be tapped out. The Nevada state engineer will commence hearings next month on the water authority's permit application.
One key element as the project goes forward is getting an agreement with Utah on how to divide groundwater resources in the Snake Valley, which straddles the state line for about 100 miles. The water authority is seeking to take about 25,000 acre-feet annually from the valley, out of about 180,000 acre-feet that is being sought for the whole project.
Utah lawmakers who attended Tuesday's meeting, all members of the interim Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee, also expressed varying degrees of skepticism about the Southern Nevada Water Authority project. Several legislators said they too want to see the process slowed - even as the state's Department of Natural Resources negotiates a deal with Nevada that its director, Michael Styler, says will be finalized before the USGS study is complete.
“Not all the people in our state, certainly the [elected officials] are on the same page,” said Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake City, an outspoken opponent of the pending Utah-Nevada deal.
Utah legislators began their two-day visit to Snake Valley on Monday, with a tour of the ranches and springs around Callao, and a public hearing at West Desert High School in nearby Trout Creek.
Styler promised lawmakers from both states that, even though the Utah-Nevada agreement will be finished before the federal groundwater study, enough flexibility would be built into the deal to accommodate the USGS results.
Utah and Nevada hydrologists, he said, are just now concluding research into how much Snake Valley water has been allocated and how much is actually being used. Combining that with the basin's historic recharge rate - roughly 100,000 acre-feet a year, he said - should give them a good idea of how much water will be available, both for the Southern Nevada Water Authority and existing users.
“We're trying to determine appropriate use,” Styler said. “But we will protect existing water rights.”
jbaird@sltrib.com
