Las Vegas plans to pipe water, upsetting its unwilling donors

LAS VEGAS -- Water agency officials here are scrambling to meet the seemingly unquenchable demand for water, as the region suffers through one of the worst droughts on record. They are also opening old wounds that pit rural areas against one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the nation.

Among the plans under consideration by the Southern Nevada Water Authority: drawing groundwater from remote areas, piping it into the Las Vegas area, and compensating farmers for taking land out of production so the water once slated for irrigation can be used by thirsty subdivisions. The plans are triggering protests, just as they did when they were first filed in 1989.

In February, the SNWA released details of the plan in a report, and the state held hearings on the issue in late March. The agency's applications seek to withdraw groundwater from portions of Clark, Lincoln, and White Pine counties, and pipe it into the Las Vegas metropolitan area through a series of aquifers up to 100 miles away. A ruling is expected later this year.

In addition, on May 6, the SNWA filed the largest water-rights request in more than decade, asking the state to allow the agency to drill seven wells in western Clark County. No hearing date has been scheduled.

But the plan to tap into groundwater north of Las Vegas is not well received by many who see it as a big-city water grab and who fear that it will dry up ranches and ruin wildlife habitat. Jo Anne Garrett is leading a recall effort against two White Pine County commissioners and District Attorney Richard Sears because of their support for the pipeline.

Sears said he was surprised to be a target of the recall, adding that there are no public officials clamoring to send the water south. ''I have yet to speak to a White Pine resident who is jumping up and down about exporting water to Las Vegas," he said. ''I have no decision-making ability on this issue at all. My duty is to prepare to litigate this case, if it comes to that. I'm not letting my personal feelings get involved."

The environmental watchdog group Defenders of Wildlife has expressed concern over wells proposed in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge.

Brian Segee, an attorney for Defenders, said drilling in the refuge could have disastrous effects on species such as bighorn sheep, the desert tortoise, and Pahrump pool fish, among others. He said evidence shows that pumping groundwater in one area dries up springs nearby.

''The [wildlife] refuge system is the only public land system set up primarily for wildlife protection," Segee said. ''In the rush to find water, we cannot destroy the areas that make the West what it is."

Water officials say that they are simply being proactive in response to the drought and that with construction still booming in Southern Nevada, the agency is being forced to look elsewhere to meet the area's needs. Lake Mead, which now supplies 90 percent of the water being used in the Las Vegas Valley, is at 57 percent capacity, dropping in water level to 1,133 feet above sea level -- down from 1,213 in January 2000.

Water conservation efforts have been successful. Despite the growth, the Las Vegas Valley used less water in 2003 than it did the previous year, and figures from the first quarter of 2004 reflect a similar trend. Nevertheless, a drought emergency could be declared by the end of the year if the lake drops below 1,125 feet.

The authority had always planned to draw remote groundwater, just not so soon, said spokesman Vince Alberta. ''They were to be developed after 2016, but the drought has required us to move sooner than expected and reinforced the need to not solely rely on the Colorado River."

Alberta said SNWA has set long-term goals to ease its reliance on Lake Mead by decreasing the amount of water it draws from the lake to 60 percent.

Alberta said the authority will hold a series of public meetings before it begins drawing groundwater, which is several years away.