Talks dry up at water meeting, leaving Norton to decide on Lake Mead supply

Jeff Donaldson

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 | 11:12 a.m.

A key decision about Southern Nevada's water supply now rests entirely in the hands of a federal official because a work group from lower and upper Colorado River basin states on Tuesday was unable to end an impasse over how much water Lake Mead should get.

The upper basin states of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming want to reduce the amount of water released this year from Lake Powell into Lake Mead, which serves the lower basin states of California, Arizona and Nevada. The 2005 Colorado River Annual Operating Plan calls for 8.23 million acre-feet of water from Lake Powell.

Officials from the upper basin states say recent heavy rains and snowfalls have benefited the lower basin lake more, raising the level of Lake Mead to 60 percent of its capacity. Lake Powell sits at 34 percent.

Tuesday's meeting was the last of two consultation sessions the Interior Department scheduled between the states and federal representatives with the hope of reaching a unified recommendation on how much water to release from Powell. Without a consensus, Interior Secretary Gale Norton is expected to set the amount later this week.

"Everything will come into play" including the financial impact a reduction in the water amount would have on each region, Interior Department spokesman Robert Walsh said.

Walsh and other Interior Department officials sidestepped questions about which way Norton is leaning on the matter, but insisted Norton has followed the Colorado River basin water issue closely.

Norton has not requested specific feedback on the various proposals, Walsh said.

Upper basin states say the loss of water may require power companies to raise rates and could lead to as much as $10 million in lost utility revenue for their region. Lower basin states worry that ongoing drought conditions and their commitments to provide water to Mexico will limit the amount of water available for local residents.

Bureau of Reclamation officials have looked at three different proposals, including reducing the amount of water from Lake Powell to 8.03 million acre-feet and 7.73 million acre-feet. One acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons -- 100,000 acre-feet represents about a one-foot difference in the lake level.

Officials from the lower basin states argued that relatively high flows into Lake Mead and "average" flows into Lake Powell do not warrant revisions to the annual operating plan. Lake Mead provides almost 90 percent of Las Vegas' drinking water.

"The 2005 (Annual Operating Plan) was created with the understanding there was going to be a drought," said Gerald Zimmerman, executive director of the State of California Colorado River Board. "We're all much better off than what we could have been."

Upper basin officials disagreed, saying that reducing the amount of water now will lead to a greater equalization of the two lakes over time.

"Our runoff has yet to be seen, and we've seen some pretty significant reductions in our snowpack," said Randy Seaholm, chief of water supply protection for Colorado. "We believe an adjustment is warranted."