Sen. Reid Says Time Running Out for Walker River

Thursday, April 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

"Our window of opportunity to save the Walker River is closing," Reid said in a statement from his Washington office. "We are facing an environmental disaster. Cooperation and negotiation are Walker River's only hope."

The national group American Rivers on Wednesday placed Walker River among its second 10 of the most seriously endangered or threatened waterways in the nation.

"The report from American Rivers is our gravest warning yet," Reid said. "The Walker River and its outlet, Walker Lake, are part of the Great Basin and an integral part of Nevada.

"The wildlife that depends on the river and lake are part of a chain of life that sustains our healthy environment. In addition, Walker Lake plays a vital role in the economy of Mineral County."

Unlike most rivers that swell as they flow toward the lakes they feed, the Walker dwindles as its water is diverted to satisfy upstream allocations and is virtually played out by the time it reaches the lake, although it has been more robust as a result of two wet winters.

Reid, D-Nev., convened a summit in Hawthorne in March 1994 to explore ways to save the river and to renew the lake just north of town.

"Since 1900 the lake has dropped over 100 feet and the surface area of the lake has decreased by over 50 percent," Reid said at that meeting. "As the entire water body of the lake decreases, water quality deteriorates, creating the specter we are faced with today."

Other than sparse precipitation and some groundwater, the river is the lake's only source of renewal and over the past eight years, evaporation has robbed it of one-third of its water, Reid said.

A study by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has estimated the lake needs 33,000 acre-feet of water a year just to maintain status quo of its 30-mile length and width ranging from 3 miles to 7 miles.

"I believe we can increase flows into the Walker River and, subsequently, into the lake without hurting agriculture in the basin," Reid said on Wednesday.

"The farmers, recreationists, conservationists, Indian tribes, local leaders, state and federal officials need to hammer out an agreement. We did it on the Truckee River negotiated water settlement and we can do it for Walker River."