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Water rights to be auctioned

Friday, May 4, 2001 | 10:45 a.m.

A piece of the Las Vegas Valley aquifer is going on the auction block at noon Saturday in the Santa Fe Station hotel-casino banquet room.

Auctioneer Robert Deiro said the 200 acre-feet of privately owned water rights are different from a similar amount that went to bid last year at the Las Vegas Country Club. Half of those rights did not sell.

While water itself cannot be sold, the rights allow an owner to draw water from the ground.

The 200 acre-feet are surplus rights that would be revoked by the state engineer or sold to municipal suppliers if not auctioned. Water engineers will be at the auction to answer any questions. The rights are suitable for residential, commercial, industrial or irrigation purposes, Deiro said.

The valley's aquifer supplied the area's water until the late 1950s, when municipal water suppliers in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City began drawing from Lake Mead. More than 80 percent of Southern Nevada residents receive their water from the lake.

Doors open for the auction at 11 a.m.

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