Water, in the midst of a desert that is in the midst of a region experiencing unprecedented population growth, is a valuable thing.

But farmers and ranchers in western Utah's Snake Valley say it's much more than that. They say it's a matter of survival, and that their survival is being challenged by Nevadans who want to funnel the water they have to Las Vegas.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority counters, however, that it has no intention of descending with hood and scythe on ranches in western Utah and eastern Nevada, the rural lifestyle or the environment. Rather, it says, it is just trying to plan for growth.

"We are growing at a rate of about 7,000 to 8,000 people per month, and we'll cross the 3 million population mark shortly," said Pat Mulroy, general manager of the water authority. "So we're growing . . . rather rapidly."

To accommodate that kind of growth, the water authority — in addition to implementing "an extremely aggressive water conservation program" — must look at developing new sources, Mulroy said. Its 2005 Water Resource Plan includes management of Nevada's apportionment of the Colorado River flow and utilization of the Virgin and Muddy rivers.

And it targets potential sources of groundwater that could be transferred via a network of pumps, wells and pipes to the Las Vegas area, where much of the state's growth is concentrated. One of those sources is Snake Valley, which straddles the Utah/Nevada border.

All told, the water authority hopes its 2005 water development plan — which it wants to bear fruit in 2015 — will double the amount of water flowing to Las Vegas.

Snake Valley

Much of the groundwater project targets Lincoln and White Pine counties in Nevada, but a portion includes Utah — a 100-mile, narrow strip of Snake Valley along the western border. Not many people live there — they all live on about 40 ranches, by one resident's count — and those who call Snake Valley home say it's just now being "discovered" by outsiders as a scenic destination.

So, they are few. But increasingly over the course of the year, they are vocal.

On Monday, a group called the Snake Valley Citizens Alliance will stage a "Water Express Run" across Utah's West Desert, culminating with a demonstration at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Federal Building in Salt Lake City. The run, which will travel through Garrison, Gandy, Partoun, Trout Creek and Callao in Millard and Juab counties before turning east to Fairfield and Salt Lake City, is in protest of the plan, which they say is bad news. Bad for current residents. Bad for the economy of the region. Potentially devastating to the environment.