Nevada is one of three Western states "debating a large-scale and polarizing water project" that could impact rural communities, Jim Malewitz of Stateline reports. The project would move up to 41 billion gallons of water from four valleys in the eastern part of the state to its "economic juggernaut," Las Vegas. Business owners in and around Las Vegas have supported the pipeline since it was proposed in 1989, but many farmers and environmentalists say the impact on rural Nevada would be too severe.
In a letter to Nevada's state engineer, Diane Chipman of Baker wrote, "If you steal our water . . . my well would run dry . . . . There are hundreds of people in peril. Do you have the right to say you are better than we are? That we are just the so-called 'Little People'?"
Jim Barbee, secretary of the Nevada Board of Agriculture, wrote in the board's public comments that the project "will unnecessarily and permanently destroy agriculture, the economy and the environment of Eastern Nevada as well as potentially create an irreversible health and safety debacle in the nature of dust particulate." A U.S. Bureau of Land Management study says water tables could be lowered between 100 and 200 feet over 75 years, resulting in the disappearance of several small springs and species, drying out of valley soil, and harm to shallow-rooted plants and irrigated agriculture.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority says it would leave plenty water for farmers and ranchers because the "withdrawals would not eclipse the rate of water recharge in the four valleys," Malewitz reports. Utah and Colorado are two other Western states considering pipelines. (Read more)
In a letter to Nevada's state engineer, Diane Chipman of Baker wrote, "If you steal our water . . . my well would run dry . . . . There are hundreds of people in peril. Do you have the right to say you are better than we are? That we are just the so-called 'Little People'?"
Jim Barbee, secretary of the Nevada Board of Agriculture, wrote in the board's public comments that the project "will unnecessarily and permanently destroy agriculture, the economy and the environment of Eastern Nevada as well as potentially create an irreversible health and safety debacle in the nature of dust particulate." A U.S. Bureau of Land Management study says water tables could be lowered between 100 and 200 feet over 75 years, resulting in the disappearance of several small springs and species, drying out of valley soil, and harm to shallow-rooted plants and irrigated agriculture.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority says it would leave plenty water for farmers and ranchers because the "withdrawals would not eclipse the rate of water recharge in the four valleys," Malewitz reports. Utah and Colorado are two other Western states considering pipelines. (Read more)
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