Citizens committee named to tackle new rules for water use

Wednesday, March 12, 2003 | 10:51 a.m.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority has named 26 people who will collectively write new water-use rules if the region moves into the third and most severe stage of an ongoing drought.

The Drought Citizens Advisory Committee will meet for the first time on Monday, Water Authority spokesman Vince Alberta said. The list of members was released this morning.

The Water Authority board created the citizens committee in response to a drought that has cut the water volume in Lake Mead, the source of 85 percent of Las Vegas drinking water, by 40 percent. The drought has led to restrictions on water use being considered and passed by governments throughout the region.

Those new rules mostly focus on restrictions on outdoor use, and have already generated some controversy.

But local and federal officials fear the drought could get worse, and endanger the flow of drinking water from the lake. The committee is charged with recommending further restrictions on water use that could include rationing.

During discussion on creating the committee, Water Authority board members said they wanted all major stakeholder groups represented. Alberta said that is what the committee does.

"The committee represents a very diverse and broad-based group of stakeholders who have a vested interest in this process, whether it is related to their businesses or their personal passion for the issue," Alberta said.

The list includes Bill Martin, president of Nevada State Bank; environmental activist Jeff van Ee; Southern Nevada Home Builders Association government affairs director Colleen Wilson-Pappa; Danny Thompson, Nevada AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer; and Billy Walters, a golf-course developer.

The members also include people who have been critical of the Water Authority's response to the drought, including Nevada Seniors Coalition President Ken Mahal and Stan Spraul, a golf club manager and director of the Nevada Golf Course Owners Association.

Mahal, who regularly tangles with the Water Authority on many points, said he wants to ensure that the solution to a drought emergency does not unfairly burden residents. Mahal and allies have argued that continued population growth in the Las Vegas Valley has turned the drought into a crisis.

"I hope to be able to establish factual conditions so we start from an honest base when we begin conversations on the issue," Mahal said. "I want to be able to verify that what we're given is a fact."

The committee is scheduled to have an open, public meeting for the first time Monday at 4 p.m. at the offices of the Las Vegas Valley Water District. Alberta said the committee is expected to meet for at least several months.