Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

'SERIOUS SITUATION:' State faces water pact's ripple effect

Agreements to store surplus now up in air

A rural California water district's decision to reject a Colorado River water pact could destabilize Nevada's future water supply, Nevada and Arizona water officials said Tuesday.

"I don't think it has to be a catastrophe for Nevada, but it's a very serious situation," said Larry Dozier, deputy general manager of the Central Arizona Project. The project runs water banking operations in Arizona and has a deal to store some surplus water for Nevada.

Nevada's access to Colorado River water beyond its apportionment is tied to California's ability to reduce its dependence on the river under a multistate agreement approved two years ago.

The Imperial Irrigation District, which gets 70 percent of California's share of Colorado River water, on Monday rejected a deal that would have sent water from its farmlands to urban San Diego County. The water transfer was the linchpin of the plan to reduce California's dependence on the river.

Dozier said if federal officials suspend California's access to surplus river water, as they have repeatedly threatened to do if California doesn't finalize a deal, Arizona probably wouldn't support Nevada's request to continue drawing surplus water. He added that because of the West's current drought, the river has no real surplus anyway.

"We see the interim surplus guidelines as a package deal," he said. "It works for everybody or nobody. We're not comfortable saying, 'Gee, Nevada, you can keep taking surplus water because we know it's not your fault California didn't (complete the deal).' "

Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, agreed that California's failure so far to approve the plan could prevent Nevada from taking surplus river water. The agreement provides a temporary supply to Nevada over the next 15 years if snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains produces above-average flows. But that supply is further threatened as the four-year drought on the upper Colorado River takes its toll.

"With the drought, everyone's up against the wall," Mulroy said. "And with the (Imperial Irrigation District) making that decision, they're leaving Nevada without the ability to overuse the river."

But a notice filed by the U.S. Department of the Interior leaves room for negotiations that could let Nevada continue to draw as much water as it needs, she said.

"I think the other states will be willing to work with us because we've been living up to our end of the agreement," Mulroy said, adding that the water authority has begun a water banking program with Arizona, is developing local resources and has an ongoing conservation campaign.

Herb Dishlip, assistant director for the Arizona Department of Water Resources, said although other states would be sympathetic toward Nevada, they might not support Nevada's continued overuse of the river, especially in light of the ongoing drought.

"We're in a severe drought, and the Colorado River supply has saved us," he said.

Dishlip added that the surplus agreement allowed Nevada and California to take more than their share of water, while creating plans to reduce their reliance on the Colorado.

"People have been supportive of Nevada because they see Nevada has a legitimate need for extra water for some period of time," he said. "But the decision on whether they get it rests on things that happen in California. There's a strong motivation to get California to make a deal, but we don't have a solution. We don't have a plan B or a plan C."

Of the seven states sharing the river, Nevada's apportionment, 300,000 acre-feet, is the smallest. In contrast, California is entitled to 4.4 million acre-feet, and Arizona to 2.8 million.

But California for years has used far more than its share, about 5.2 million acre-feet. Nevada has drawn about 30,000 acre-feet beyond its apportionment this year. And recent estimates show the state probably will need up to 700,000 acre-feet annually within the next 20 years if the Las Vegas Valley continues to grow at the current rate of about 5,000 people per month.

An acre-foot, 326,000 gallons, is enough to meet the needs of a Las Vegas family of five for a year.

Federal officials on Tuesday said that if California doesn't cut a deal among all its water users by Dec. 31, the government would move to make good on a threat to withhold surplus water, as much as 800,000 acre-feet from California and 30,000 acre-feet from Nevada.

Access to surplus water could be restored to California and Nevada as soon as California water users finalize a deal, Dishlip said.

Mulroy on Tuesday said that although she isn't worried about Nevada's water supply in the short-term, she is "very worried about what this will do to the largest group of water uses along the Southern California coast."

She said Nevada has several options, including underground water supplies, should the federal government shut the tap on surplus supplies.

Mulroy said the Imperial Irrigation District's decision to renege on the water-swapping deal after previously agreeing to it in mediation destroyed its credibility and "makes the whole state of California look silly."

The three members of the district who voted against the plan have said they realize they eventually will have to agree to some sort of water transfer deal. But they complained that this one was too far-reaching and was being forced on them.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.