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Mar. 24, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Water authority goes with Virgin River flow

By HENRY BREAN
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Click image for enlargement.



A bridge on state Route 170 crosses the Virgin River at the Riverside Bunkerville I-15 exit. A sign notes the water flows into Lake Mead.
Photo by Ralph Fountain.

Under a sweeping agreement signed in December by the seven Colorado River states, water managers in Las Vegas won the right to tap the Virgin River without having to build even an inch of new pipeline.

Now the Southern Nevada Water Authority is moving to secure as much of that worry-free water as it can.

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    • Through a series of swaps and purchases approved last week with water users in the Mesquite area, the authority has increased the amount of water it can take from the Virgin River to about 5,000 acre-feet a year.

    When stretched through reuse, that's enough water to supply about 17,000 homes.

    That might not sound like much in the grand scheme of things, but getting the water couldn't be easier. All the authority has to do is wait for it to flow down the river and into Lake Mead, then pipe it to the Las Vegas Valley using its existing inlet pipes.

    Best of all, the water will still be available even when some Colorado River water is off limits due to mandatory shortages, said John Entsminger, deputy counsel for the authority.

    "It really becomes the best water in our portfolio," he said.

    Only Virgin River rights permitted before 1929 can be taken by the authority under Nevada's agreement with the other Colorado River states.

    With that in mind, board members voted to buy about 1,060 acre-feet of water rights permitted in 1914. As part of the $12.4 million deal with the owners of an old ranch southwest of Mesquite, the authority also got 1,200 acre-feet of rights from 1990.

    Under a separate deal, also approved last week, the newer rights will be swapped with the Virgin Valley Water District in Mesquite for almost 900 acre-feet of pre-1929 water rights.

    The authority also transferred to the Virgin Valley Water District some pending applications for groundwater in northeastern Clark County.

    The rural water district serves about 18,000 customers in and around Mesquite but owns the rights to enough additional groundwater to support up to 40,000 people, depending on how the community develops.

    If Mesquite continues to grow, the district eventually might have to start treating and delivering Virgin River water to customers.

    Entsminger said the authority plans to start using its share of the Virgin River this year, either by delivering it to customers or storing it underground in the Las Vegas Valley.

    The new seven-state agreement also allows the authority to bank its Virgin River water in Lake Mead for future use.

    "We're not going to lose it," Entsminger said.

    The authority board also has signed off on a plan to develop a comprehensive habitat conservation and recovery program for the Virgin River.

    The program would be developed in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Clark County, the city of Mesquite, and the Virgin Valley Water District.

    Water authority General Manager Pat Mulroy said the river could use the help.

    "The Virgin has been on the threatened river list forever," she said.

    Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean @reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0350.



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    2zero wrote on March 26, 2008 03:14 PM: Once again...follow the money! Not unlike the windfall millions Pat Mulroy paid her pal Harvey the "coyote springs" fat cat. Now she is repaying Richard Bunker and friends of Mesquite/Bunkerville!!! Richard and Pat go way back, in fact these two spend millions just making this happen!!!!!


    tm wrote on March 24, 2008 08:52 PM: lets get rid of all people on water board. get people that knows whats going on the water district.mulroy, roy r. and rest.


    WaterSource wrote on March 24, 2008 11:33 AM: Amazing...

    The Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Clark County, the city of Mesquite,the Virgin Valley Water District and the Southern Nevada Water Authority aren't remotely interested in a million acre feet of fresh water for all of Nevada, Lake Mead and the streams/aquifers that SNWA's "thirst" will affect.

    All entities can confidentially look at the Source for FREE with the GUARANTEE that development of the Source will not damage the environment or the water rights of anyone, anywhere....still NO INTEREST !....??

    The "mining" of groundwater is not the answer to any water dilemma....!

    WaterSource (Retired Water Rights Analyst) waterrdw@yahoo.com




    rODMAN wrote on March 24, 2008 08:27 AM: TO VEGAS VIC. NEVER WILL THE WATER DISTRICT REALIZE THERE ISN'T ENOUGH WATER TO SUPPORT UNRESTRICTED GROWTH. THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD POSSIBLEY REALIZE IT IS WHEN THE PAYOFFS QUIT AND THE VOTERS ELECT GOOD POLITICIAANS WHO CARE, NOT A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE TAKE OR ONLY IN IT FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT.


    Roger wrote on March 24, 2008 08:21 AM: That's about all Vegas will grow now given the bad economic situation. Too bad they have to drain another river for a doomed economy...


    Vegas Vic wrote on March 24, 2008 03:07 AM: Wow! They can supply a whole 17,000 homes with the "new" water supply. Out of the 2 million living in this valley, that's just a miniscule drop in the bucket. But, of course, they'll use that 17,000 to "prove" that they can continue issuing permits for developers to build even MORE houses. When is the SNWA going to pull their heads out and realize that until the drought is over (5 to 7 years of continuous rainfall) there isn't enough water in Lake Mead to support unrestricted growth in the Las Vegas valley.