Growth workshop focuses on future water resources

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2004 | 9:36 a.m.

A workshop for some Clark County Growth Management Task Force members turned into a forum on the future of Las Vegas and whether there will be enough water to sustain growth.

The workshop covered natural resources in Southern Nevada, such as air quality, endangered species and water, for nine members of the task force who volunteered to meet Tuesday night at the Clark County Government Center.

After a presentation on the 23 percent rate of water conservation achieved in 2003, task force member Ngai Pindell, a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Boyd School of Law, asked what would happen if Lake Mead dropped 100 feet.

Although no one knows what nature will do, the Southern Nevada Water Authority has plans to import water from rural counties north of Las Vegas and is talking to nearby states about a bigger share of Colorado River water, Thomas Minwegen, deputy general manager for the water authority, said.

"If we are not able to do that, what then?" Pindell asked.

Although one of two intakes on Saddle Island has been extended 50 feet deeper, the water authority is studying extensions on its two pipelines to go deeper into the lake, Minwegen said.

John Wilson, representing the Teamsters Union and a longtime opponent of the growth-dependent, mostly nonunion residential construction business, stood up and asked what would happen if the drought continues for another three years.

Wilson suggested slowing housing construction until the water authority can put pipelines and pumps in place to deliver alternate water sources and river water from Lake Mead, which has dropped 89 feet in five years.

"Everything seems to be a roll of the dice here," Wilson said.

Minwegen replied that the water authority has already stored 110,000 acre-feet underground in Arizona, so Las Vegas can draw on that supply if needed in the future. Nevada water officials hope to eventually store 1 million acre- feet in Arizona, he said.

Task force member Bill Bible, president of the Nevada Resort Association, representing the casino industry, downplayed Wilson's concern and said the Las Vegas Valley Water District has a water resource plan that is updated annually.

"All the information we've received indicates it is a situation of great concern, not a criticality," Bible said.

However, task force member Jane Feldman said Wilson reacted "in a normal way" and that he may sense a water crisis coming.

"I think that's the voice of an average person and he's right on target," Feldman said. "He's asking are we going to have any jobs? Are we going to have any water?"

The task force is expected to make its recommendations to the Clark County Commission in January.