Protect western desert water

This morning, the Snake Valley Citizens Alliance embarks on a relay from Baker, Nev., to the Wallace E. Bennett Federal Building in downtown Salt Lake City to draw attention to what the organization considers a proposed "water grab" by the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

Participants in the "Water Express Run" will cross Utah's western desert on foot, mostly following the old Pony Express trail, ferrying backpacks full of letters for delivery to the governor and members of Utah's congressional delegation. The trek will culminate with a rally at the federal building at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

SNWA wants to establish well fields within five miles of the Utah-Nevada state line to pump 25,000 acre-feet of water a year to thirsty and rapidly growing Las Vegas. Members of the citizens alliance — many of them ranchers who rely on springs and wells to irrigate crops and water livestock — say pumping the springs would devastate the already scarce water supply and ruin productive ranch lands.

All for the sake of Las Vegas' unbridled growth.

The well fields are but part of SNWA's water development plan. The authority also plans to utilize the Virgin and Muddy rivers. It is battling to protect its share of Colorado River water. The city has instituted tough water conservation measures, which include steep increases in water rates. Clark County is one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. High water rates, low-flow toilets and xeriscaping can achieve only so much. Las Vegas will need more water.

But it shouldn't come at the expense of Snake Valley ranchers.

For one, little is known about the hydrogeologic and hydrologic balance of the Snake Valley to "accurately predict the effects of the proposed wells," according to a January 2005 report by the Utah Geological Survey. Ranchers who have grown crops and grazed livestock in the area for decades contend that there is not enough water to meet their needs, let alone supply the 25,000 acre-feet of water a year SNWA wants.

SNWA officials have offered assurances that traditional uses of the land would be protected, but area ranchers say they can't take the risk. "They say they'll mitigate, that we can just dig our wells a little deeper. But you can't mitigate a spring that doesn't exist anymore," says Kathy Hill, whose Snake Valley ranch was homesteaded by her grandfather. He dug his first well with a shovel.