Letter: Guest column ignores reality of the water problem

Thursday, Aug. 21, 1997 | 10:58 a.m.

The SNWA is trying to free up some wwater by "weaning" california from using all the river's surplus. California uses 5.2 million acre feet of Colorado River water per year, or 800,000 acre feet more than its annual 4.4 million acre feet entitlement. What makes the SNWA think California will give us any water for Nevada? California needs that surplus water to meet its own ever-increasing demands.

Arizona is not giving up any of its 2.8 million acre feet annual entitlement either. Arizona fought with california for many years, including a U.S. Supreme Court case, to keep its Colorado River entitlement. Nevada apparently has "banked" about 100,000 acre feet of water in Arizona. That won't get us through a hot summer, assuming the diversion of "banked" water can even be shifted back to Nevada.

California will oppose water "wheeling," or shifting the diversion from one point in the river to another, because it allows competing states to use or sell their surplus water, leaving less for California. The SNWA plans to "wheel" the Virgin River through Lake Mead and is negotiating with Utah to "wheel" some water down from the upper Colorado River Basin. Why should California agree to buy surplus water when it has used it free for 30 years?

There is even more bad news regarding our water outlook. Roughly half of Nevada's existing entitlement depends on credits from wastewaters returned to Lake Mead. Discharges of contaminated wastewater, groundwater and stormwater from Las Vegas Wash cause serious water quality problems in the lake. Local health officials don't seem troubled by discharges of polluted water just six miles downstream from us? What happens if an Arizona or California water user, or some environmental group, sues Nevada for polluting the Colorado River with perchlorate or some other toxic compound? We could lose the return-flow credits when we desperately need them to meet our water needs.

Nevada is "flirting with disaster," all right, but not because the water system is unreliable or undersized. The disaster is we're spending millions for an enormous new water system and haven't got enough water lined up to wet the pipes. The disaster is casinos and developers are investing billions in expansions and new construction, believing the SNWA will get more water. The disaster is local residents' water supplies will be reduced as the SNWA struggles to deliver water for all the development. We're in worse shape with water now than any time in our history. There are 1.2 million people living in the valley and a large share of the state's economy depends on growth and prosperity in Southern Nevada. I go into shock every time I think about it.

Larry J. Paulson