Water

Nevada's Water Facts
The Pipeline
What You Can Do?
Background reading

Nevada's Water Facts

Water Resources & Supply

In Nevada, a state facing both rapid growth and diminishing water supplies, wise management of water resources and protection of water quality is vital to the our state's economic future and to Nevadans’ quality of life. NCL is working hard to promote and implement policies that balance the needs of both and find real solutions.

Nevada’s water resources come from surface water, which is defined as open bodies of water such as streams, lakes and reservoirs, and ground water, which is generally defined as all subsurface water. Surface water is the source of 60 percent of the total water supply used in Nevada, and 72 percent of the residential, commercial, industrial and public use. The Truckee and Colorado Rivers – surface water resources – provide drinking water for approximately 85 percent of all Nevada residents. More than ground water, surface water is used for thermoelectric power, public water supplies, irrigation, industrial and aquaculture. Ground water is typically used for livestock, domestic supplies and mining. The growing problem, however, is that surface waters in Nevada are limited and are essentially fully committed, and ground water resources are approaching full commitment in the state's southern and western regions.

Sources: Water Words Dictionary by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources at http://water.nv.gov/Water%20Planning/dict-1/ww-index.htm, Nevada Natural Resources Status Report by the Nevada Division of Water Resources of the State of Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources at http://dcnr.nv.gov/nrp01/content.htm & Water in Nevada by Michael L Stroeble at http://nevada.usgs.gov/wb/index.htm

water
Major Streams in Nevada

The estimated average annual yield from rivers and streams in Nevada is approximately 3.2 million acre-feet per year (an acre-foot is enough to supply a family of four for one year). About 1.9 million acre-feet originate in Nevada watersheds and about 1.3 million acre-feet flows in from adjoining states. The Colorado River is the largest river in Nevada and provides 90%of the water supply to the Las Vegas area. Nevada receives a 300,000 acre-feet annual allotment of the river's water under the Colorado River Compact (which is only 4% of total supply).

Source: Nevada Natural Resources Status Report by the Nevada Division of Water Resources of the State of Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources at http://dcnr.nv.gov/nrp01/content.htm

Water Use

A 2004 study revealed that about 75 percent of total annual water use in Nevada went to irrigation and about 22.4 percent went to public water supply. In terms of public water supply, the larger urban areas are the big users. Estimates for Nevada counties in 2002 showed that Clark County uses about 73 percent of the total public supply and Washoe County uses about 14.5 percent. While these numbers are just estimates, they do provide a good representation of how public water is used in Nevada.

Sources: Hutson, S.S., Barber, N.L., Kenny, J.F., Linsey, K.S., Lumia, D.S., and Maupin, M.A., 2004, Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2000: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1268, 46 p. & Water in Nevada by Michael L Stroeble at http://nevada.usgs.gov/wb/index.htm

To break down the uses of public water supply, the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), for example, shows that residential water customers use 59 percent of Southern Nevada’s drinking water. 70 percent of this is used outdoors increasing to 90 percent in the summer.

Source: Southern Nevada Water Authority http://www.snwa.com/html/cons_index.html

Southern Nevada Water Authority's
Proposed Pipeline System

The state of Nevada is currently experiencing exponential growth, increasing the demand for water. Alone, the cities located in the Las Vegas Valley constitute the fastest growing urban area in the entire country. The population in the Las Vegas Valley has reached nearly 2 million, and if existing growth rates continue, it is expected that this number will double by 2030. As Nevada grows in both urban areas and emerging suburbs, developers and water purveyors are applying for and acquiring water rights statewide with the intent of using water for expanded commercial, domestic, speculative, recreational and entertainment purposes. However, these proposed projects carry environmental, economic, social and cultural impacts.

One major issue is the effect of large-scale water transfers on rural communities. Increasingly, cities are eyeing water in rural areas and are contemplating large-scale transfers of ground water from rural areas. Such transfers lead to browning of farmland and irrigated greenbelt areas, devastating the livelihoods of rural communities and the farmers and ranchers who grow our food. As it is, money and power are situated largely on the side of the cities. The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), which manages water for the Las Vegas Valley, proposes to build a nearly 300 mile long pipeline system that would take underground water from the Great Basin aquifer system of White Pine County and pump it to Las Vegas.

Source: Las Vegas and the Groundwater Development Project: Where does it start? Were will it end? (pdf) by PLAN at http://www.nevadaconservationleague.org/edu/documents/nv-water-pipeline-report06.pdf, Nevada Water Issues 2006 (pdf) at http://nevada.sierraclub.org/conservation/pipelines/BriefingBook/ Water%20Briefing%20Book%20Web%20Version.pdf & Water Words Dictionary by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources at http://water.nv.gov/Water%20Planning/dict-1/ww-index.htm

Click on map below to expand

For more on the proposed pipeline see:

Two reports released by Western Resource Advocates and Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, with Great Basin Water Network, address urban water use in the Southwest and ask tough questions about Southern Nevada Water Authority's (SNWA) planned pipeline and provide sound alternatives to the costly project.

The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada’s (PLAN) report, Where does it start? Where will it end? Las Vegas and the Groundwater Development Project, provides an overview of the potential plans, costs and impacts of the Southern Nevada Water Authority's proposal to extract groundwater from rural Nevada and Utah and send it over 250 miles to Las Vegas. To read the full report, click here (10 Mb).

Western Resource Advocate’s report illustrates that although communities in the Southwest have taken impressive strides to reduce urban water demand, there is still more that can be done. Water in the Urban Southwest: An Updated Analysis of Water Use in Albuquerque, Las Vegas Valley and Tucson provides new information on water use in these fast growing municipalities and shows that business, schools and resorts are integrating conservation into their day–to-day practices, reducing their demand by millions of gallons each year. To read the full report, click here (4.6 Mb).

Click here to view a video
about Water in Nevada

and

Click here to view NCL Executive Director Scot Rutledge discussing drought in the West.

What You Can Do

Contact your local, state, and federal representatives and learn their positions on current water appropriation and growth
Attend public hearings and voice your opinions
Participate actively in water efficiency/conservation programs in your town or city
Write letters to the editor and op-eds for your local and regional newspapers
Link water issues to larger problems

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers a variety of resources, services and information to promote water conservation. For more information see link:

http://epa.gov/watersense/

Click here to read "6 Ways to Reduce Desalting Costs by 50 Percent"

Democratic Water Resolution for Caucus

Republican Water Resolution for Caucus

Links

USGS Water in Nevada
http://nevada.usgs.gov/wb/index.htm

On Nevada’s water resources and supply in Nevada Natural Resources Status Report by the State of Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
http://dcnr.nv.gov/nrp01/content.htm

State of Nevada. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Division of Water Resources.
http://water.nv.gov/

The National Research Council's report on the fate of the Colorado River:
http://dcnr.nv.gov/file/colorado_river_management_final.pdf

Nevada Water Resources Association is a nonprofit, issue-neutral organization that is made up of a wide variety of water professionals, students and non-scientists with an interest in water from across the State. http://www.nvwra.org/

University of Utah Center for Public Policy and Administration

Great Basin Water Network has information about Great Basin Water issues, including What You Should Know pamphlets and links to geological surveys.

The Global Groundwater Situation: Overview of Opportunities and Challenges

Glennon, Robert. Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters. Island Press, 2004.

Miller, Char, ed. Fluid Arguments: Five Centuries of Western Water Conflict. University of Arizona Press, 2001.

Saunders, Stephen and Maureen Maxwell. “Less Snow, Less Water: Climate Disruption in the West.” A Clean Air Report. The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization. September 2005.