Pupfish concerns could hurt water plan

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 | 11:16 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The federal government is raising fears that the endangered desert pupfish, found only at Devil's Hole in Nye County, could be at risk if the Southern Nevada Water Authority is allowed to pump water from rural valleys to fast-growing Las Vegas.

Richard Waddell, a groundwater hydrologist who is a consultant for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, testified Tuesday that the plan to ship water would affect the habitat of the pupfish, the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, the Corn Creek Springs Area and the Pahranagat area.

All three areas are located within the boundaries of the land the Fish and Wildlife Service is required to protect.

Waddell told a hearing before state Engineer Hugh Ricci that he doesn't know when the impact would be felt or how serious it would be.

"The magnitude (of the impact) and the timing of the pumping we really don't know," he said.

Kay Brothers, deputy director of the water authority, said studies show there is enough water in the Three Lakes and Tikaboo valleys to ship 18,000 acre-feet a year to Las Vegas without harming the pupfish or the environment.

Ricci must make a decision on whether there is sufficient water in the two valleys in Clark and Lincoln counties to be piped to serve the rising population of Southern Nevada. An acre-foot of water serves about one family for a year.

Waddell is expected to be the final witness for the government. He was to be cross-examined today by attorney Paul Taggart, who will then put on the case for the water authority.

Brothers said the authority will present about eight witnesses including her.

Dick Birger, project leader for the Desert National Wildlife Range and other federal refuges in Southern Nevada, said outside the hearing that the desert pupfish are nourished by algae that grows on a ledge slightly below the water level at Devil's Hole, about 30 miles north of Pahrump.

Birger explained that if the water level drops below the ledge it will dry up and there won't be any algae produced for the pupfish to eat.

The federal government also is concerned that pumping in the two valleys could affect the 1.6 million-acre Desert National Wildlife Range, the 23,500-acre Ash Meadow National Wildlife Refuge, the 5,380-acre Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge and the 106-acre Moapa Valley National Refuge.

Waddell said there are variations in the estimates of annual recharge of water in the Three Lakes and Tikaboo valleys.

"There is very little information about the availability of water in these areas," he said.

Waddell said the state engineer should not make his decision on annual recharge estimates. But Waddell, under cross examination, conceded that the state engineer in the past has used this procedure in making his decision in granting water rights.

Brothers also said the state engineer has used the recharge information in making the decisions.

Waddell supported the drilling of monitoring wells to allow further study if there is water available that could be pumped without hurting the wildlife management areas.

The hearing is expected to go through the rest of the week. A decision from Ricci is not expected for several months.