Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LOOKING IN ON: CARSON CITY

The Southern Nevada Water Authority is paying inflated prices to buy ranches for water rights in White Pine County that could result in Clark County residents being hit with big water bills, White Pine officials contend.

White Pine County officials are fighting the water authority's application to pipe 91,000 acre-feet of water from Spring Valley to Southern Nevada.

Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka, said the authority paid $22 million for the Robison Ranch in Spring Valley, which was purchased by Vidler Water Co. only a few years ago for $4 million.

Doug Carson, chairman of the White Pine Water Advisory Committee, warned that Southern Nevada residents will face "huge water bills" because of the high prices paid, estimated by some White Pine officials at five times the property's value.

But Scott Huntley, the water authority's public information manager, says the purchases will cost residents of Southern Nevada only pennies a month when the water is delivered.

In 10 years when the $3.1 billion pipeline project is completed, the average increase to a homeowner will be $2 per month. But only a few cents of that can be attributed to buying the ranches in White Pine County, Huntley said.

He said the developers who hook up to the pipeline will bear the "significant bulk" of the rates. Water rates for big users also will be higher.

The state engineer's office held a hearing in September on the water authority's application to ship the water from Spring Valley to Southern Nevada. No decision has been made on that application, which does not include the water rights of the ranches purchased by the water authority.

Gov. Jim Gibbons is keeping a promise not to raise taxes or fees but in doing so has had to dip into the already depleted state road building fund.

Some legislators don't like the governor's suggestion to take $2 million from the highway fund, already facing an estimated shortfall of $3.8 billion, for future road construction.

The state Transportation Services Authority, which regulates such businesses as limousine services, tow trucks and taxicabs outside of Clark County, wants to hire six more employees to handle an ever-increasing workload.

Authority Chairman Kimberly Maxon-Rushton said the industry supports a proposal to raise fees to cover the hiring of the six workers. The authority proposed raising the annual fee for a limousine from $100 to $250, for a taxicab outside of Clark County from $75 to $125 and tow trucks from $36 to $75.

Gibbons approved the six additional workers but quashed the suggestion to increase the fees, recommending instead that the money be taken out of the highway fund.

"I don't like that," Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, said.

Subcommittee Chairman Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, said he dislikes the idea of dipping into the highway fund, but also opposes raising fees.

"I have a hard time at this point justifying the full staff increase they are asking for," Beers said. "We are going to be hesitant to dig that deep into our road construction funds to make this agency bigger."

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