Water Authority OKs cost hikes

Friday, July 22, 2005 | 9:27 a.m.

The Water Authority board voted 6-0 Thursday to approve a series of cost increases, largely to support capital needs, including a $650 million "third straw" intake at Lake Mead.

The Water Authority hopes to have the intake bringing water to the urban area by 2011.

The board voted to increase the wholesale delivery charge for water from $243 to $252 per acre-foot of treated water. The move will increase revenues to the agency by about $4 million annually.

At the same time, the board also voted to increase individual connection charges for new homes by a bit more than 12 percent annually. The increase should take the existing connection charges from $4,000 to more than $8,060 by 2016.

The Water Authority's connection charges are in addition to connection charges imposed on new homes by the regional purveyors, among them the Las Vegas Valley Water District and the water agencies of Henderson, North Las Vegas and Boulder City.

The connection charges would add about $2 billion to the agency's coffers by 2016, said Vince Alberta, Water Authority spokesman.

The board also voted to increase the regular commodity charge on every $1,000 gallons delivered to homes and businesses throughout the region from 5 cents to 10 cents. That will increase the average residential user's bill by about 75 cents a month, Deputy General Manager Richard Wimmer told the Water Authority board.

Also on Thursday, the authority board approved the purchase of $11.9 million in shares of the Bunkerville Irrigation Co., shares that will translate into water the agency should be able to take from Lake Mead and the Colorado River, Deputy General Manager Kay Brothers said.

The agreement should give the Water Authority access to about 3,700 acre-feet, according to the Water Authority.

The water rights held by the Bunkerville company are especially useful because of legal reasons going back to 1927, the Water Authority can draw up the water through its existing collection system in Lake Mead.

The authority, in an agreement with the Virgin Valley Water District serving Mesquite and Bunkerville, transfers other water rights to the smaller water agency as part of the juggling of rights designed to keep the farmers of northeast Nevada and the users in urban Clark County whole.