Editorial: State engineer right to delay water grant

Thursday, March 14, 2002 | 8:41 a.m.

State Engineer Hugh Ricci understands that ground water must be overseen as a state resource and that neither county boundary lines nor the plans of a private business should unduly influence decisions about how much should be pumped. Ricci made the right decision last week when he put off for at least five years the issuing of any new water rights in the Coyote Springs Valley, about 50 miles north of Las Vegas on the Clark-Lincoln County line. The decision was in response to requests by developer Harvey Whittemore for rights to 16,000 acre feet and by the Las Vegas Valley Water District for 27,500 acre feet. Whittemore, best known for his work as a lobbyist at the Legislature, wanted the water rights for a planned 50,000-home development, and the water district has been seeking the rights for more than a decade in order to augment its supply for future gr owth in Southern Nevada.

Ricci's caution is commendable because no one can say for sure what impact there would be from drawing that much water. There is no scientific justification for taking a chance of that magnitude. Environmentalists worry about the effect on the springs and lakes in the area and the wildlife that depend on them. Ricci is concerned about how such a draw would impact other holders of water rights. He decided that for at least the next five years, studies should be conducted that would provide a sound scientific basis for a decision one way or the other.

In the meantime, no one will lose by Ricci's cautious approach. Whittemore can begin his project with the 6,100 acre feet to which he already owns rights. As for the water district, its need is not immediate and nothing stands in the way of its plans to buy rights to 1,100 acre feet from Whittemore. The whole state would stand to lose, however, if ground water decisions were made in a hurry, before scientific studies were conclusive. Once an aquifer that has existed for millions of years is gone, it's gone. Swimming pools and golf courses are nice, but the desert will sustain us only for as long as we remain responsible stewards.