Second water study pushed

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Thursday that a new federal study of the Snake Valley aquifer might be advisable because Utah farmers and ranchers "are up in arms" over plans in Nevada to pump groundwater from the area and pipe it to Las Vegas.

Hatch said agreement in Congress for such a study "might be achievable as long as there is some equitable approach to the water itself," which lies under eastern Nevada and western Utah.

"Utah is not interested in hurting Nevada or taking water that belongs to Nevada, but we are very interested in protecting our water, especially in the West Desert where water is king," Hatch said in a brief interview.

"The problem with this is the water appears to be on the side of Utah, and there are farmers and ranchers who are up in arms," Hatch said.

"We are fairly unsympathetic to Nevada's position," he said.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., indicated he was not interested in a new look at the aquifer.

"It would be a waste of money," Reid said Thursday. "There has already been a study."

Aides said Reid was referring to a three-year study released in June by the U.S. Geological Survey that examined water supplies in central and eastern Nevada.

The Basin and Range Carbonate Aquifer System Study, known as the BARCAS study, said more water than previously believed evaporates from the region.

The study was interpreted by the Southern Nevada Water Authority as supporting the idea that there is enough water for its uses.

The water authority was given the go-ahead by the Nevada state engineer in April to take up to 40,000 acre-feet of water annually from Spring Valley, the White Pine County aquifer due west of Snake Valley.

The authority also is seeking 25,000 acre-feet of groundwater in Snake Valley as part of its strategy to tap sources in eastern Nevada to quench growth in Las Vegas.

But the water matter may shift to Capitol Hill after a legislative committee in Utah sent a letter to the state's congressional delegation seeking federal funding for a new study.

Utah ranchers and environmentalists in both states say that the BARCAS study raised further questions about the impact of drawing down the aquifer, and that more precise follow-up studies could utilize computer modeling to project possible effects.

Hatch did not say whether he would seek an appropriation from Congress this year to carry out the request.

The office of Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, did not respond to a telephone call on the issue.

The Utah state legislators envisioned a study would cost about $6 million, roughly the same amount spent on the BARCAS study.

Pat Mulroy, who heads the Southern Nevada Water Authority, blasted the request from Utah this week.

She said the move was a "deliberate stall tactic" by Utah officials who want the same water for development in Cedar City, St. George and along Interstate 15.

Mulroy criticized the BARCAS study itself, which she said seemed set up from the start to require a follow-up like one now being contemplated.

She said her fear is that a second BARCAS study would lead Utah officials to request a third, "son of BARCAS," solely designed to delay the authority's groundwater development plans.

"This will go on and on and on," Mulroy said.

Review-Journal writer Henry Brean contributed to this report.