Editorial: Public’s need is paramount

Monday, Oct. 29, 2001 | 8:51 a.m.

Water officials from Clark County believe that they have found enough water to allow our population here to double. There is a problem with that scenario, though. As the Sun's Launce Rake reported Sunday, our neighbor to the north, Lincoln County, has entered into a partnership with California-based Vidler Water Co. to obtain that underground water in the east-central part of the state. The amount of water at stake isn't trifling: 200,000 acre-feet per year. To put that into perspective, Nevada takes close to its limit of about 300,000 acre-feet a year out of the Colorado River.

It's obvious that Lincoln County, which only has about 5,000 residents, has no use for the water. The company that Lincoln County has partnered with certainly would try to turn right around and sell the water to the Las Vegas Valley Water District -- for a profit. If that were to happen, we can be guaranteed that this middleman would gouge us, a prospect that wouldn't happen if our local government's water officials had the rights to that same source of water.

The state engineer's office almost always is the flashpoint where water disputes in Nevada get settled. Whatever course State Engineer Hugh Ricci charts, the impact from his decision will play a pivotal role in Southern Nevada's future. In the end, the state engineer must base his decision on what's in the public interest. Water is an essential natural resource and the public should benefit in any dispute involving it. Granting water rights to Lincoln County and its private-company partner assuredly will result in profiteering. Granting water rights to the Las Vegas Valley Water District will ensure that the costs to obtain that water will be reasonable and, in turn, will allow this vibrant valley to continue to grow.