Some water rights protection money may be misused

Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005 | 10:58 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Legislature set aside $1 million, ostensibly to help rural Nevada protect its water resources from plans to pipe it to Las Vegas, but some local governments are planning to use the "water defense fund" for other purposes.

Twenty-one local governments, including some in Clark County, have submitted notices to the state Board of Financing Water Projects that they will submit applications for money from the fund.

The law says the money must be used to obtain expert and technical assistant to gather data to protect existing water rights or to enhance existing water rights.

Tom Buko of Nye County said the growing community of Pahrump needs more water. The water table is declining a foot a year, he said.

"We have to get more water to Pahrump," but alluding to the Southern Nevada Water Authority's plans to draw water from some rural counties, he added, "We don't want to be a northern SNWA."

Bryan Stockton, a deputy attorney general representing the water projects board, said the money is to protect existing water rights. It is not to supplement existing water rights, he told Buko.

The Kyle Canyon Water District submitted a letter to the board, saying it intended to file an application for money. Board Chairwoman Rebecca Grismanauskas said the money would help e small districts to gather information and "complete projects to protect is existing rights."

Searchlight also plans to ask for money. Michael Romero, chairman of the town advisory board, said the money would be used to gather information, improve the current water system and help in future projects.

White Pine County, one of the counties targeted by the Southern Nevada Water Authority, also sent in its letter of intent to apply for the money. County Commission Chairman John Chachas, noting the Bureau of Land Management is holding a series of technical meetings in Las Vegas to prepare an environmental impact statement on the proposed pipeline, said the county does not have the money to hire experts to review the"voluminous data" and to represent the county at the twice a month meeting of the BLM. He said the county wants $200,000 of the $1 million.

Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka, told the board Tuesday the money was "clearly meant" for the rural counties, not for Clark or Washoe counties. "This was a water defense fund," he said.

He urged the board not to dole out small grants of money to all of the governments that apply because it would not accomplish the goal.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, the sponsor of the $1 million bill, sent a letter to the board, saying the governments of Washoe and Clark counties already have access to legal, technical and financial resources to protect their water rights.

She said rural counties need to protect their water rights from the more populous counties that are experienced rapid development.

Leslie also urged the board not to divide the money equally to all local governments that apply but to place primary consideration on the counties that need to protect their water.