Editorial: Water bill ignores the public interest

Thursday, May 15, 2003 | 9:24 a.m.

The Nevada Senate has passed legislation that would let Nevada's cash-strapped rural counties enter into contracts with cash-rich private companies to pay for the acquisition of water rights. In turn, the counties could share in the wealth as private companies then sell the water to areas in desperate need of water, such as Clark County. Vidler Water Co. already has entered into a partnership with Lincoln County that could allow water to be pumped out of that rural county. Senate Bill 487 seeks to overcome an attorney general's opinion from 2002 that said state law doesn't permit this kind of private-public partnership between Vidler Water Co. and Lincoln County.

Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Henderson, is opposed to the legislation. The bill "throws out 150 years of water law that says water belongs to the people. ... We are making water an instrument of commerce," Hardy told the Sun in a story on Tuesday. He also said the legislation would make it easier for a company, as long as it has entered into an agreement with a county, to be granted speculative water rights. Historically, as the Sun reported, only government-run water authorities receive state approval for speculative water rights; private companies are denied them.

Water is not just another commodity. It is an essential natural resource that ultimately belongs to the public. And a fast-growing metropolitan area such as Las Vegas could be held hostage to price gouging if water profiteers are given more power. In addition, we've seen in the past how the aggressive pumping of water can damage the environment. We believe the Assembly should reject SB487, which would benefit Vidler Water Co. to the detriment of the public interest.