Water chief stresses role of business for stability

Kevin Rademacher

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005 | 10:58 a.m.

Speaking to a room full of Las Vegas-area business leaders, Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager Pat Mulroy said that efforts to pipe water from Northern Nevada counties could be bolstered by business partnerships.

Southern Nevada water users are riding a wave of success following successful conservation efforts, a recent agreement to buy Colorado River water from Arizona and a slight boost from abnormally wet weather in recent weeks. Still, Mulroy said, the only solid long-term security comes from water not dependent on the river.

One answer, she said, is pumping groundwater from Northern Nevada. Most residents and political leaders outside Clark County, however, are skeptical of efforts by the Southern metropolis to gain control over their natural resources.

"There is still a great deal of trepidation in rural Nevada of big bad Southern Nevada," Mulroy said at a lunch meeting held by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

One way to ease at least some of that trepidation would be business partnerships, she indicated.

"We know it's going to take Southern Nevada money," she said. "But everywhere I go, we hear 'Don't just write us a check.' "

She said efforts by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce to partner with rural and Northern Nevada chambers would create economic links, giving both regions a stake in the other and ultimately easing skepticism.

"Absolutely," she said.

Kara Kelley, president of the Las Vegas Chamber, agreed.

"Pat's point is a good one," she said. "We are interdependent, and Clark County can be a partner. It's not just about the check, it's about the long-term health of those communities."

Evie Pinneo, executive director of the Ely-based White Pine Chamber of Commerce, said residents and business leaders in that area are certainly apprehensive of talk of water deals.

"It's a tough situation," she said. "Until we get better facts, we just don't know what needs to be done."

Pinneo also said that while Southern Nevada needs water to keep up with growth, White Pine County has seen development as well.

"The community is growing, too," she said.

Mulroy also acknowledged that more needs to be known about the amount of water available in Northern Nevada.

"The time is now for us politically to find out what we have in this state," she said.