Saturday, September 03, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

COLORADO RIVER ISSUES: Water chief draws line at meeting

Southern Nevada's Mulroy asserts right to divert Virgin River water for valley's use

The seven Western states that share Colorado River water continue to make progress toward sweeping new rules on how the river should be operated during desperate shortages.

But Nevada's top water official is not above a little saber rattling, just in case.

During a conference in San Diego last week, Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager Pat Mulroy had this message for a conference of water managers: Nevada is ready for war should talks break down and the seven basin states wind up in court.

Specifically, Mulroy said she wanted other Colorado River users to know that Nevada will fight for its right to divert water from the Virgin River for use in the Las Vegas Valley.

The upper river basin states of Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico have argued that Nevada should not be allowed to use water from a Colorado River tributary such as the Virgin without deducting that amount from its annual Colorado River allocation.

Mulroy said her remarks were meant less as a threat than as a firm but friendly reminder. "This is a huge issue for us, and we're not going to compromise," she said.

Nevada receives the smallest share of the Colorado's water but depends on it more for municipal use than any other state. The state essentially uses its entire allocation of 300,000 acre-feet each year to supply the Las Vegas Valley with about 90 percent of its drinking water.

For that reason, Mulroy said almost any lawsuit among the basin states could prompt Nevada to launch an all-out assault on the 1922 Colorado River Compact, which provides the basis for all of the so-called "law of the river."

"The only state on the river with nothing to lose is Nevada," she said. "What are you going to do, take our 300,000 acre-feet away?"

There are 325,851 gallons in an acre-foot, almost enough water to supply two Las Vegas households for a year.

Mulroy's comments in San Diego came on the heels of an announcement that Arizona water officials had established a legal defense fund should the tributary fight or other Colorado River issues result in a lawsuit.

News of Arizona's "war chest," as Mulroy called it, provided "the undercurrent" for both the San Diego water conference and a simultaneous meeting of basin-state representatives, she said.

"After an initial tense hour, it went fine," Mulroy said of the basin-states meeting.

The seven states emerged from the meeting with a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton outlining the wide range of issues, from tributary development to ocean desalination, that they plan to address in the coming months.

Mulroy said the states have until the end of 2006 "at the latest" to agree on rules for sharing shortages and operating the twin reservoirs of Lake Mead and Lake Powell when water levels are low.

"That was a huge step, getting the scope (of the discussions) in place," she said.

In the meantime, Arizona continues to prepare for battle. On Thursday, officials for the state's largest water provider, the Central Arizona Project, pledged up to $1.5 million for the legal defense fund, which already contained $200,000 in start-up money from Arizona's Department of Water Resources.

Department director Herb Guenther fears the money will be put to use. "We're trying to keep the peace, but it's only a matter of time before we all end up in court," he said.

Mulroy is more optimistic.

She expects the seven states to reach an accord and avoid a lengthy and unpredictable court battle for one simple reason: "Everybody wants something out of this. Since there is something in it for everyone, there will be agreement," she said.

But it won't be easy. "I think there are any number of issues where we could have some fighting," Mulroy said. "Each one of them gets gnarly, and each one of them will be difficult."

Mulroy then offered one last prediction: "Everybody's got to posture and defend," she said. "We're going to rattle a lot of sabers before it's over."

The next basin-states meeting will be held late this month in Santa Fe, N.M.