By Daniel Rothberg, The Nevada Independent, May 21, 2020
The Southern Nevada Water Authority board voted Thursday to withdraw its remaining permits and applications associated with its proposal to pump groundwater from eastern Nevada to Las Vegas.
District Court judge strikes down state-backed groundwater market for violating “first in time, first in right” rule
By Daniel Rothberg, The Nevada Independent, May 1, 2020
The ruling filed April 27 by Seventh Judicial District Judge Gary D. Fairman stops the groundwater management plan for the Diamond Valley Hydrographic Basin (07-153) Eureka County which was approved by the State Engineer on January 11, 2019 pursuant to SE Order No. 1302.
Water authority shelves controversial Las Vegas pipeline project
By Daniel Rothberg, The Nevada Independent, April 16, 2020
The Southern Nevada Water Authority is ending a decades-long effort to build a controversial 300-mile pipeline to pump rural groundwater from eastern Nevada to Las Vegas. Read the Nevada Independent article.
State Engineer issues Interim Order #1308 to estabish reserved groundwater quantities
State Engineer Tim Wilson on March 16, 2020 issued Interim Order #1308 to estabish reserved groundwater quantities for hydrographic basins with unappropriated groundwater, as required by the 2019 Legislature in Senate Bill 140. Click here to read the Order.
Commissioner calls on water authority ‘to look in a different direction’ as District Court judge reaffirms decision to deny water for Las Vegas pipeline
By Daniel Rothberg, The Nevada Independent, March 10th, 2020 – 3:12pm
Senior District Court Judge Robert Estes, presiding over the 7th Judicial District Court, ruled that the state’s water law does not support the project. The court order, filed on March 9, denied the water authority a portion of the rights for the project, which it said could result in “water mining.”
Click here to read the Nevada Independent Article.
Click here to read the Order.
The FUTURE Drought Resiliency Act is open for public comment until February 7, 2020.
The FUTURE Drought Resiliency Act is a new bill by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) to develop more resilient water infrastructure, expand the use of modern water management tools and technologies, and assist disadvantaged areas in meeting their drinking water needs. The bill includes a section on Infrastructure Development, inluding desalination, and Improved Technology and Data.
Rep. Huffman released a discussion draft of the legislation. The legislation will be open for public comment from January 8, 2020 to February 7, 2020 and can viewed here: https://huffman.house.gov/future-drought-act