Squeezing tomorrow’s water from today’s technology

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2006 | 12:34 p.m.

Ever wonder what a 21st century rain dance looks like? Nevada water officials are about to find out.

With the state's thirst growing by the minute, water officials are asking engineers to find ways to modify the weather in the Colorado River watershed.

It is just one of a handful of ideas that Southern Nevada Water Authority officials hope can help wring more water out of the environment.

Other ideas include desalting plants on the Pacific Ocean or elsewhere, getting rid of water-gobbling salt cedar from riverbanks and cleaning up and using the wastewater generated as a byproduct of Western natural gas production.

The Water Authority has contacted eight major engineering firms, asking if they have the expertise to judge whether any of the ideas will work.

Like weather modification - which might include cloud seeding - most of the ideas are not new. They have been discussed by water officials from the seven states of the Colorado River basin, which is emerging from years of drought that fundamentally shook confidence in the river as the main water resource.

Water Authority officials say they hope to come up with even more ideas once they start looking in earnest.

"We're not putting a limit, initially anyway, because if there are good ideas out there ... we want to know about them," said J.C. Davis, an agency spokesman.

"This process will create a way to push the envelope in terms of creating ideas to augment the Colorado River system," Davis said. "Anything is on the table."

Some ideas already in play are considered difficult to achieve, especially on the near term. Desalting plants in California, for example, have been part of the Water Authority's long-term resource plan for years, but General Manager Pat Mulroy has said it would likely be decades before the plants, which convert salty ocean water to drinking quality, could benefit Southern Nevada.

Ideas already on the table for adding water to the Colorado River include:

"We believe this is something that is long overdue,'' said David Donnelly, a Water Authority consultant. Donnelly noted that congressional testimony in 1979 included calls for finding ways for technology to add water to the Colorado River basin.

Jim Deacon, UNLV professor emeritus of environmental studies and a sharp critic of the Water Authority's $2 billion plans to bring rural Nevada ground water to Las Vegas, gave the agency's initiative a cautious thumbs up.

"My initial reaction is that is sounds like a wonderful opportunity," Deacon said. The effort would be positive, however, only if done in an environmentally sound way and not to simply help the region keep growing, he said.

"If the focus of the Water Authority is to increase the usable water supply without doing environmental damage, it could be a good opportunity. If the focus is to get more water running down the Colorado so California can use it, it could be incredibly damaging," he said.

Launce Rake can be reached at 259-4127 or at lrake@lasvegassun.com.