Editorial: Water pact enables just ‘some’ relief

Friday, Dec. 10, 2004 | 4:47 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

December 11 - 12, 2004

It's said that in the West water runs uphill, toward money. That has been proved true by the deal nearly completed between Southern Nevada and Arizona. The water authority here held aloft $330 million, and, sure enough, 1.25 million acre-feet of water controlled by Arizona changed course and became destined for the Las Vegas Valley.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority is expected to finalize this long-term water purchase Thursday. Arizona has already signed off on it. In our view, Las Vegas will be getting its money's worth. While not a total solution to our water worries by any means, the deal at least brings some peace of mind for the future.

Severe drought over the past five years, coupled with the valley's nation-leading growth, has proved the need for such a deal. The agreement was made necessary by the Colorado River Compact, which dates back to 1922. Under this agreement, Arizona is allowed 2.8 million acre-feet a year from the river, more than enough to meet its current needs. From its surplus, Arizona can sell water to Nevada, whose annual 300,000 acre-foot allotment is barely sufficient. Permanently changing the states' allotments to meet modern needs is logical but has proven impossible, as all of the states and Congress have veto power over any proposals. So temporary agreements among individual states, authorized five years ago by the Bureau of Reclamation, are the only practical way for states to secure extra water.

The water authority will pay Arizona mainly with fees paid by customers to connect to water lines. The extra water will be drawn beginning in 2007 and will continue annually for the next four to six decades, depending upon need. Early on, the agreement will bring enough new water to serve between 120,000 and 180,000 people a year (one acre-foot serves about six people a year). After 2011 enough new water may be drawn to serve about 240,000 people a year. By then, however, the valley will likely have more than 2 million people. The water authority's plan to pipe in groundwater from rural counties to the north might be in place, but so too might the drought be continuing.

While the agreement with Arizona relieves water worries, it does not begin to end them. To have even more peace of mind about the future, we must all enter an agreement -- to continue conserving water as much as possible.