From Deseret News archives:
Utah, Nevada close to treaty in water war
"We support the pipeline; you just can't have our water," said Mike Styler, director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources.
Styler said the Snake Valley aquifer shared by Utah and Nevada has enough water to let the Southern Nevada Water Authority use about 12,000 acre-feet of the Snake Valley supplies, ensuring that Utah will have at least 55,000 acre-feet for current users and the sensitive Fish Springs area on the Utah side.
"We felt like we had to preserve Fish Springs," Styler said. Fish Springs is home to the least chub, which is the subject of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study that could land the tiny fish on a list of federally protected species. If the chub is listed as endangered, it would further complicate Nevada's proposal to pump water from Snake Valley.
Styler's comments came as he gave an update Thursday to members of the American Society for Public Administration's Utah chapter on the latest results from over three years of negotiations with Nevada. Closed-door talks are taking place monthly, and Styler said officials with the Southern Nevada Water Authority and Utah met Wednesday.
He said both sides are close to a federally required written agreement that will lay out rules on how to divvy up the shared resources of the Snake Valley aquifer, most of which is in Utah's Millard County. Most of the water that feeds the aquifer comes from Nevada, but a majority of those who use it live in Utah.
Styler said the Snake Valley aquifer shared by Utah and Nevada is still being studied to determine how much water is there. Current estimates show there are probably more than 100,000 acre-feet of water in the aquifer, or enough to supply about 300,000 homes. But Nevada wants about 52,000 acre-feet of that water.
If further research shows the aquifer has more water, he said, Nevada may be in a better position to expect more.
Styler said the agreement that Utah and Nevada are working on will emphasize environmental concerns, namely what will happen when there is the expected localized drying up of areas in the Snake Valley when water is eventually pumped out. The Snake Valley is approximately 100 miles long and about 40 miles wide.
Watchdogs have said Nevada's plans for Snake Valley will result in a dust bowl, impacting air quality as far east as the Wasatch Front. Public hearings about the Southern Nevada Water Authority's proposal are scheduled next September in Nevada.
E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com
