Friday, April 17, 1998 | 10:50 a.m.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority voted unanimously Thursday to buy $25 million worth of ground water in Coyote Springs, a deal officials said would ensure that Las Vegas has an alternative resource to the Colorado River.
There are three ways for the water authority to put the water purchase to use:
Coyote Springs Investment LLC is owned by Reno developer David Loeb and Nevada's most powerful lobbyist Harvey Whittemore. The company plans to develop the site as a residential and recreation project, but it won't take all the water.
Coyote Springs general manager Gary Derck said the land and water deal should be complete by May. Then the company will have to present formal plans and begin gaining permits for developing about 4,000 acres of the project's first phase.
Loeb has developed Wingfield Springs near Reno on 2,000 acres of land.
The water authority agreed to pay $5.2 million for 1,800 acre feet from Coyote Springs as soon as escrow closes.
The water authority can't lose with Coyote Springs, its General Manager Pat Mulroy said, but expects lengthy negotiations on the water.
If the water authority wants to quit the contract, it can serve a 30-day notice after two years, she said. In that case, Coyote Springs would have to repay all costs paid by the water authority.
The water authority gets five acres of land to drill other wells at Coyote Springs and will pay at the most $6,000 an acre foot, if a pipeline is built to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas and San Diego have something in common in their hunt for water, Mulroy said. Neither city has a delivery system, but San Diego is paying $24,000 over 100 years to bring 200,000 acre feet from the Imperial Valley.
It's critical that the Las Vegas Valley exhausts its in-state water supply options before seeking help from other states along the Colorado River, Mulroy said.
"Southern Nevada exists on such a razor's edge without an agricultural source," she said, adding it's either the Colorado River or nothing.
With Coyote Springs water in hand, Mulroy hopes to persuade other states to allow Southern Nevada a natural pipeline through the Muddy River to Lake Mead.
"If it's wet water, not on paper and not a scam, they will sit down," she said, referring to California, Arizona, Utah and other states served by the Colorado River.
"It puts our cards on the table," board member Bryan Nix of Boulder City said.
One citizen said he thought the water authority should have been more aggressive and competed for lower water rates on the Coyote Springs source.
Ken Mahal, president of the Nevada Seniors Coalition, questioned why the water authority did not put out a proposal with a firm price on it.
"It seems to us a competitive world is a much better world," Mahal said.
Mulroy replied that the water authority shared his concern. When the Muddy River proposal was announced, the prices ranged from $2,990 per acre foot to $9,000 an acre foot.
Neither Boulder City nor Laughlin joined the water authority agreement on Coyote Springs. Both cities said they did not need the extra water.
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