Deal reached on Coyote water

Thursday, Feb. 14, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The war over water rights among major interests in the Coyote Springs Valley is over.

Competing parties have reached an agreement benefiting both the expanding Southern Nevada population and developer Harvey Whittemore, who plans a recreational desert community in Coyote Springs that could eventually house 50,000 residents.

"It's a good deal for us because water is so precious," David Donnelly, deputy general manager of engineering-operation for the Las Vegas Valley Water District, said.

"It gives us a good opportunity to go forward with our development in an orderly fashion without over-extending the resources in the area," Whittemore said.

And it puts an end to more than three years of competition between the various interests for the water in the valley on the Clark-Lincoln county border about 50 miles north of Las Vegas.

The settlement involves the Water District, the Southern Nevada Water Authority, Whittemore and the Moapa Valley Water District. It establishes ratios on how much each party will receive when state Engineer Hugh Ricci decides the amount that can be pumped from the underground aquifer.

The directors of the Las Vegas district will meet Tuesday to ratify the agreement, and the Water Authority will consider the document on Thursday.

Ricci held hearings last year on the competing applications of the Water District and Whittemore over pumping the carbonate-rock aquifer that some people believe holds vast amounts of water. But no solid information exists on how much water the aquifer, which stretches into Northern Nevada, holds.

The federal government and environmentalists have urged Ricci to go slow in allowing water to be drawn because of the uncertainty of the amount available.

The district applied for an annual 27,500 acre-feet from the valley. Whittemore filed for more than 100,000 acre-feet but pared that down to 16,000 acre-feet. An acre-foot is enough to serve a family of four for a year.

After the hearings the parties started negotiating.

"The best thing was to settle -- to sit down and see if we can come up with an arrangement and we can all become winners," Donnelly said.

If Ricci approves the 27,500 acre-feet for the Las Vegas Valley Water District, half of that will go to the Moapa Valley Water District, under a prior agreement. In turn, the Moapa Valley Water District will provide Whittemore with 4,989 acre-feet a year.

Whittemore already holds title to 6,100 acre-feet. As part of the agreement, the Las Vegas district will buy 1,100 acre-feet from Whittemore at $3,000 an acre-foot.

The settlement provides that 2,000 acre-feet a year will be available for development in the Apex Industrial Park 17 miles north of Las Vegas.

Whittemore said his present 5,000 acre-feet will allow him to develop an estimated 2,000 homes plus two Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses. The added water from the agreement will permit another 2,500 to 3,000 homes.

Van Robinson, general manager of the Moapa Valley Water District, said the water it receives will permit it to serve Whittemore's development. Whittemore would have to put in the piping and other infrastructure, and the district would supply the water and maintain the system, Robinson said. Whittemore also will pay the cost of service for the water.

The Moapa Valley Water District now serves 8,000 customers.

The agreement calls for the Las Vegas Valley Water District to monitor the pumping of the water in Coyote Springs to make sure other springs and water users are not dried up. And the district will be able to tell if the water table is being lowered.

The "beauty of this agreement," Donnelly said, is that if Ricci allows only a small amount of water to be pumped, then each of the entities will receive smaller portions based on the agreed-upon ratios. If there's a lot of water, then the parties will share in the bounty.

Whittemore called this a "good resolution to a variety of issues which have plagued us over three or four years. It balances the interests of all parties in a way that will benefit the entire area long-term."

Ricci has not said when he will decide how much he will allow the Las Vegas district to pump.