Ground water pumping called ‘recipe for disaster’

Eric Leake

Monday, May 2, 2005 | 9:43 a.m.

Robert Glennon asked his audience to imagine a 12-ounce bottle containing all the water below ground.

Now imagine everybody and every community putting in their straw.

"It's a finite resource and we're treating it as if it's inexhaustible," Glennon said. "It's a recipe for disaster."

Glennon spoke Thursday evening at UNLV on the environmental impact of ground water pumping. He is a law professor at the University of Arizona and author of the book "Waterfollies."

More than 100 people filled the Marjorie Barrick Museum Auditorium for Glennon's presentation, part of the University Forum lecture series.

"I'm surprised to see so many people here to hear something about ground water," Glennon said.

"This is something you should care about and care deeply about."

One plan to address the valley's water needs calls for pumping water out of the surrounding counties.

Throughout his presentation Glennon talked about the effects of excessive ground water pumping. He showed pictures of lakes and rivers gone dry, of sinkholes, and of markers where the surrounding land had dropped dozens of feet.

He said the laws governing water rights and access do not recognize that ground water pools are part of larger systems.

"My theme is simple. There's a disconnect between the fields of law and science," Glennon said. "Hydrologists understand it's all one. It's the legal system that's out of whack."

He said ground water is responsible for 25 percent of the nation's water supply and 31 percent of the water used in Nevada.

The result, he said, are diminishing water reserves and disappearing rivers and springs.

"I was shocked to discover that the reason Las Vegas was located here is because of the Las Vegas Springs," Glennon said. "I'm not telling you anything, but they're gone."

He said the Humboldt River in Northern Nevada will likely face a similar fate because of water being pumped out of pit mines.

He advocated improved government regulation of ground water pumping -- example, no pumping directly out of springs -- and opening water rights and amounts to market forces.

"Water has a value in the U.S. that we have not appreciated," he said

Glennon said people will not value water until it has a market-based price. He said cell phone and cable bills are often higher than water bills.

"It's a strange way to price the essence of life," he said.

Amargosa Valley resident Michael DeLee said the presentation was timely considering the area's water needs.

"It was excellent. It's the sort of thing that people in Las Vegas need to be conscious of," he said.

DeLee is publisher of the Mojave News and a member of the Nevada Water Committee advocacy group. He liked the idea of opening water rights to market forces.

"That gives water the respect it deserves. It places it where people think it counts, which is in the pocketbook," he said.

He said Nevada has is ahead of many states in finding ways to address water need.

"Water has historically been a scarce, so we have a jump start on thinking of it as a scarce resource," DeLee said.