Southern Nevada secures water - for now

Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006 | 7:08 a.m.

WASHINGTON - In the waning hours of the 109th Congress, lawmakers approved a temporary infusion of water to help sustain Las Vegas' growth until new water sources come online permanently.

Tucked inside a tax bill is language directing the federal government to build a reservoir to capture Colorado River water that otherwise flows unclaimed into the Sea of Cortez.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority will pay to construct the reservoir just north of the border with Mexico, under an agreement with other Colorado River states.

For every $300 in construction costs, Southern Nevada will gain rights to an acre-foot of water - with the total providing enough water for 120,000 homes for a year.

The Water Authority sought the legislation in hopes it will prevent environmental organizations from blocking the reservoir. Environmentalists have already delayed a similar water conservation project downstream, in San Diego.

Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Water Authority, told Nevada's senators, Majority Leader-elect Harry Reid, a Democrat, and Republican John Ensign, that the legislation was her top priority for this session of Congress. "We were begging them to find a way," she said.

Southern Nevada's rapid growth has the region heading for a water shortage by the middle of the next decade if something isn't done. The reservoir deal is important not only for the water it could provide but also for the clout it will give the region in water allocation talks by making permanent improvements to the Colorado River system.

"It is a critical piece of the overall package," Mulroy said.

The seven basin states of the Colorado River and the federal government have been discussing how to handle the twin forces of drought and demand on the water supply. Lakes Mead and Powell, the principal reservoirs for downstream users including Las Vegas, are almost half-empty, and without new guidelines for handling shortages, the water levels will continue to drop.

Platoons of engineers and lawyers from the states and federal agencies will converge on Las Vegas this week for the annual meeting of the Colorado River Water Users Association, where the talks will continue.

In the talks, the Water Authority has pledged support for programs to augment the water supply as a way to ensure that Nevada's interests are well represented. Metropolitan Las Vegas depends almost entirely on water from the river, and so the regional water agency wants to ensure continued access to the supply.

The $84 million reservoir approved by Congress would capture water sent from Lake Mead to Southern California farmers. The water makes a three-day journey to the farms. But if rain develops during the trip, the irrigation water is not needed, and without a reservoir to capture it, the water simply flows on to Mexico.

The deal guarantees Southern Nevada would get as much as 280,000 acre-feet of water - at a rate of up to 40,000 acre-feet annually for seven years. Las Vegas currently takes 300,000 acre-feet a year to supply nearly all water needs.

As a permanent solution, the Water Authority is seeking permission to take ground water from White Pine County in the north and send it to Las Vegas by 2012.

But environmentalists and Mexican officials have joined forces in a legal battle that has stalled a sister project in Southern California - lining the 23-mile All-American Canal. Currently, water leaking from the earthen canal is used by Mexican farmers and wildlife.

Environmentalists are likewise concerned that the reservoir would capture water that otherwise would flow to the river delta and support wildlife.

The water legislation instructs the federal government to construct and operate the reservoir "without delay." That language puts more federal weight behind the water project.

The bill contains a similar congressional mandate for the All-American Canal, and San Diego's water lawyer was quoted Tuesday saying he would use the language to try to quash the environmental lawsuit.

"I think some of the environmental groups won't be particularly happy about it," Mulroy said. "But I think a more reasoned approach needs to be taken. Filing a lawsuit to prevent the U.S. from conserving its water is not the solution."

Jennifer Pitt, an analyst at Environmental Defense, said the group is concerned that giving the water to Nevada will harm endangered birds relying on the vegetation at the mouth of the river. The group was not party to the Southern California lawsuits but is watching the Nevada situation.

"There is a great ecosystem down there," Pitt said of the area at the river delta. "I'm not on principle opposed to a project that makes the Colorado River system more efficient ... But without having a dedicated source of water for the delta in the U.S. and Mexico, it is troubling to us."

The water provisions were wrapped into the Reid-Ensign White Pine County land bill, which in turn was folded into the tax bill. That land bill provides for the sale of 45,000 acres of public land in exchange for designating 10 times that amount as wilderness. Lawmakers dropped other provisions that drew protests from environmentalists, including the use of proceeds from the land sales to pay for a new sewer line and to expand affordable housing in Southern Nevada.

Sun reporter Launce Rake of the Sun contributed to this story.