User profile: kathyhill

This article is not persuasive or reassuring to those who live in Snake Valley.
First, it insists that our water is protected by state and Federal laws. However, Federal law has not protected water or the environment in the Ogallala aquifer, the environmental disasters of mining in the Smokies, oil spills in the Artic, etc., etc, etc. So why should we expect it to protect us?
Second, the authors talk about returning to a "steady state" condition. This is grossly misleading. The only reason that the basin would need to achieve a new steady state is because the recharge-discharge balance has been disturbed through water mining. So when springs dry up, plants die off, and wells go dry, then a new balance will be achieved - minus much of the natural beauty of the present eastern Nevada. So saying a "return of the steady state" is inaccurate. It will be a new steady state.
Thirdly, they state the effects of pumping can be easily monitored and adjusted and assume the state engineer can determine what is an acceptable impact. This is certainly a heads-in-the-clouds/sand mentality. Of course, for the well-heeled SNWA, litigation is no problem, but for the citizens of Snake Valley, it is one more nail in the coffin.
But all of this seems to be a fruitless argument because Mulroy and her buddies arrogantly state that there is plenty of water. She doesn't know that and neither do all of the USGS hydrologists and other scientists who have conducted studies. All the studies stop short of studying impacts of withdrawing 300% more water than is currently being used in the valley. Ms. Mulroy didn't like the results of her first modeling efforts (which predicted severe impacts) and has gone to a new modeling project which may give her the results she wants. If not, she can always pay for another model until she finally gets one that supports her theories. Further, she believes that everyone else, including Utah, owes it to Las Vegas to keep its water fantasy alive. Las Vegas is a desert, but that doesn't give it the right to strip the rest of the state and part of Utah of water to keep it green.

Kudos to Emily Green for the courage to report the straight story. Residents of Utah and Nevada in Snake Valley have been outraged with SNWA because of their misleading and incorrect claims and their head-in-the-sand attitudes. After reading this article, everyone should question statements from SNWA regarding the pipeline and look for accuracy and truth elsewhere. The science shows that water removal from the Great Basin will destroy it permanently for a temporary fix for Las Vegas. Is it worth it?