Editorial: Hope arises for water future

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006 | 7:33 a.m.

After four years of extreme drought in Nevada and throughout the West, the Interior Department in 2003 introduced a program called "Water 2025." The department, under Secretary Gale Norton, feared the long-term consequences of a double calamity: prolonged lack of precipitation and prolonged population growth. Both are continuing today, particularly in Nevada and the six other states that share water from the Colorado River.

By injecting funds and federal water experts into the West's growing problem, the Interior Department hoped that regional crises and conflicts among the states could be avoided. A major strategy under the program was to assure the states that the federal government would listen to any proposals they brought to the table. Another strategy was to encourage -- and if that didn't work, pressure -- the states to begin collaborating with each other to produce the proposals.

This strategy appears to have been successful for Nevada and the other Colorado River states. They were warned by the Interior Department that a plan to manage the drought would be in place by the end of 2007 -- with or without their input. As meetings began among the states' water managers, they were all wary of each other and divisions arose. But not wanting a federal plan imposed upon them, they continued with regular meetings.

On Tuesday the officials emerged from a meeting in Las Vegas with the news that all seven states had agreed to a proposal. This means the Interior Department, which has the final say on drought management, will be able to start with a document that reflects local concerns.

For Nevada, the proposal means an investment of about $80 million toward infrastructure improvements that will lead to more water in the Colorado River system, and more water for state residents and businesses. Altogether, the agreements under the proposal add up to a lot more water for Nevada, nearly double its current allotment from the river.

All of the states' water officials and the Interior Department deserve credit for improving the water outlook. But the whole agreement depends upon a healthy Colorado River. If the proposal is accepted, those who will ultimately deserve the most credit will be those who continue to conserve.