Delta crowd turns out to pan Las Vegas water plan

DELTA  — A pipeline that could tap water from an arid basin straddling Utah and Nevada could be years away from reality — if it ever gets to that — but opposition remains strong in this rural area of ranchers and farmers.

"The alternative I would like to see is no action," said Frank Paxton from neighboring Kanosh. "This pumping and pipeline project would have a huge impact on the rangelands of this basin that at this point I am emotionally involved with."

Paxton was among a handful of residents who voiced concerns Thursday night at Delta High School's gymnasium during a public meeting hosted by the Bureau of Land Management over a groundwater project.

 A draft environmental impact statement was released by the federal agency earlier this summer and is going through the public input process for comments. The deadline for comments is Oct. 11.

In a departure from what is usual, the federal agency did not approve or reject the pipeline plan or any alternative, saying a conclusion is impossible without knowing how much groundwater ultimately will be tapped. That remains to be determined by the Nevada State Engineer, who will convene hearings on water right applications in late September.

Still, the agency was criticized by some for going through a process described as premature given the pending water rights issue and for evaluating impacts when locals say they already know the water withdrawals cannot be sustained.

Clayton Jeffery, with Millard County Water District, compared it a feeble old man going to the doctor and getting a battery of tests performed.

"To me it is let the doctor check us over, make us feel good, but it is all for nothing. We're still going to die of old age."

The Southern Nevada Water Authority wants to build a 285-mile pipeline that would convey water from eastern Nevada to Las Vegas area communities.

Las Vegas gets 90 percent of its water supply from Lake Mead, which has been driven to the lowest levels in decades because of drought.

Although described as a project of  "last resort" by water authority officials, the pipeline would provide a backup plan for water that would carry Las Vegas into the future.

Opponents, however, say the mostly arid, sparsely populated basins of eastern Nevada cannot support such a withdrawal, which they fear would dry up their livelihoods as ranchers and farmers.