Editorial: This time, let’s accept drought plan

Monday, April 12, 2004 | 8:53 a.m.

Work on the Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963, allowing Lake Powell to take shape in a massive area spanning Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. It took the next 17 years to fill the lake, which supplies water to Lake Mead, which in turns supplies water to Southern Nevada. Over just the past five years, however, Lake Powell has lost more than 16 million acre-feet of water because of drought -- more than half of its capacity. During this five years, Nevada and other Southwestern states have depended on Lake Powell to get them though. They were especially hopeful that the winter of 2003-2004 would bring replenishing rains and snowfalls in above-average amounts. Unfortunately, the winter runoff was less than half of normal -- and less than a third of what had been hoped for to escape even worse drought conditions.

The projections are grim if the drought persists, and all indications point to the fact that it will persist for years. Lake Powell will likely lose another million acre-feet or more over the next year. And the level of Lake Mead will continue to drop, perhaps to as much as 80 feet below where it was four years ago.

All of this serves as a warning to Southern Nevadans -- not from government agencies, but from Mother Nature. The role of government, however, is clear -- respond to reality and prepare a conservation plan. Imagine the criticism government would receive for ignoring the problem, or treating it casually, until the day our taps began to sputter. As early as this year, the Southern Nevada Water Authority may have to declare a "drought emergency," which would mean water restrictions much more severe than we're experiencing now.

Last year, when the water authority developed a drought plan containing only mild impacts, howls of protest came forth from nearly all classes of water users, including businesses that did not want to shut down their water fountains. The plan was then, literally, watered down. Before the next drought plan is offered, we hope those protesters take a trip to Lake Powell or Lake Mead to see for themselves what is happening.