The Bad Economics of SNWA's Water Grab
Nevada leads the nation in unemployment. We have something on the order of 30,000 vacant houses. Construction workers and others who can find work elsewhere are fleeing the Silver State. The lost buying power leaves many storefronts remaining vacant.
The growth boom that fueled both positive trends – lots of work, lots of short term tax revenue – and negatives –corruption, traffic congestion, overcrowded schools, and desperate efforts to catch up with infrastructure needs – is over.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority’s $15 billion proposal to pump water from eastern Nevada to Las Vegas is not justified by the zero-to-one percent growth we’re currently experiencing – not when conservation efforts can continue to decrease the demand for water in this desert.
The $15 billion needed to pay for this project would come from the pockets of rate-payers – tripling residential water fees, and more than doubling fees for small businesses.
What will that do to an economy already on the ropes? It’s not as if this work will provide ancillary benefits to Southern Nevada. At the point of maximum employment, the project would provide about 900 jobs, the SNWA estimates. That would come to about $17 million per job, and most of the jobs aren’t even in Southern Nevada.
This post focuses on the economic problems associated with the water grab. Next time, we’ll discuss the considerable damage to the environment predicted by numerous scientists.
To learn more- watch our friends Rob Mrowka and Vinny Spotleson on Ralston's Oct 4th Taping of Face to Face.
Note: The Nevada State Engineer will take public testimony from a number of different sites around the state on Friday, Oct. 7. Bring your voice to the hearing the Grant Sawyer State Office Building in Las Vegas, Room 4412; at the Nevada Legislative Building in Carson City, Room 1214; and the Great Basin College in Ely, Room 112.
