CNRWA Update

CENTRAL NEVADA REGIONAL WATER AUTHORITY UPDATE

By Jeff Fontaine | Executive Director | CNRWA | ccjfontaine@gmail.com

The mission of the Central Nevada Regional Water Resources (CNRWA) is to protect the water resources in member counties so these counties will not only have an economic future, but their quality of life and natural environment is maintained.

In anticipation of the 2023 Legislative Session CNRW recently adopted policies on water related issues including conjunctive management, and water conservation, banking and leasing. Conjunctive management is the integrated management of hydrologically connected water regardless of the source to improve the overall availability and reliability of water while reducing conflict and potential long term harm to the resource. The understanding of connectivity in individual systems is still inadequate in many areas of Nevada, however it is generally accepted in the scientific community that perennial stream systems and springs throughout Nevada are hydrologically connected to groundwater aquifers. Existing Nevada law (NRS 533.024) declares that it is the policy of the State of Nevada to manage conjunctively the appropriation, use and administration of all waters of this State, regardless of the source of water. Apart from this Legislative declaration adopted in 2017 no other statutes related to conjunctive water management have been enacted and the Division of Water Resources has not yet adopted regulations governing conjunctive water management. While conjunctive management is a pragmatic approach, its implementation in Nevada has been inconsistent. CNRWA also adopted policies supporting water conservation, banking and leasing which are management mechanisms designed to incentivize and increase water supply efficiency and reliability. The policies, however, oppose any legislation that does not adhere to the doctrine of prior appropriation or diminish or harm existing water rights or can be used as a means to facilitate out-of-basin or out-of-county transfers favoring development in urban areas at the expense of agriculture or rural areas. CNRWA priorities for the upcoming Legislative Session are intended to help balance demands and avoid conflicts among domestic, municipal, agricultural and industrial users who rely on limited water resources. They include funding for counties to prepare and update water resource plans. CNRWA has long advocated for requiring local government land use plans to be based on identified sustainable water resources. In 2019 Senator Goicoechea sponsored and the Legislature enacted Senate Bill 150 which requires Nevada’s counties and cities to develop and maintain a water resource plan that identifies all known sources of water that are physically and legally available for use in the community, analyzes whether the sources of water identified are of sufficient quality and quantity to satisfy the existing and expected demands caused by growth and a plan for obtaining additional water of sufficient quality and quantity. Other CNRWA legislative priorities are to create county groundwater boards to provide recommendations to the State Engineer on management of designated basins, establish and fund a program for the voluntary retirement of water rights in over-appropriated basins and enhance resources for the Division of Water Resources to restore staffing, update water basin budgets and adjudicate basins so the Division. The Central Region is the largest of Nevada’s 14 hydrographic regions and the Central Nevada Regional Water Authority’s member counties, Churchill, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Nye, Pershing and White Pine rely on their water resources for economic development and diversification and to sustain their communities and way of life. However, 34 of the 78 groundwater basins in the Central Hydrographic Region are designated groundwater basins where permitted ground water rights approach or exceed the estimated average annual recharge and the water resources are being depleted or require additional administration. And Diamond Valley in Eureka County is the only basin in Nevada that has been designated as a Critical Management Area (CMA). For over 40 years, annual groundwater pumping has exceeded the perennial yield of Diamond Valley, and in 2015, the State Engineer designated Diamond Valley as a Critical Management Area (CMA). By law, this designation requires the State Engineer to order that groundwater withdrawals be restricted to conform to priority rights if after 10 years a locally developed Groundwater Management Plan (GMP) is not approved. State Engineer’s Order# 1302 approving the Diamond Valley GMP was appealed to the District Court, which found that the Order was unlawful. The District Court’s finding was then appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court and on June 16th the Nevada Supreme Court approved the Diamond Valley GMP. Justices Hardesty, Stiglich, Cadish and Herndon indicated that the Legislature enacted NRS 534.037 and NRS 534.110(7) to address the critical water shortages in Nevada’s over-appropriated basins and that the statutes plainly give the State Engineer discretion to approve a GMP that does not strictly comply with Nevada’s statutory water scheme or strictly adhere to the doctrine of prior appropriation. The Justices also stated they recognize that their opinion will significantly affect water management in Nevada but are of the belief, however, that-given the arid nature of this State-it is particularly important that they effectuate the plain meaning of a statute that encourages the sustainable use of water. They further stated that the GMP is a community-based solution to the long-term water shortages in Diamond Valley and that because the GMP complies with NRS 534.037 and NRS 534.110(7), it is valid. This is a significant decision by the Supreme Court and potentially an important tool for managing overpumped basins. However, in separate dissents, Chief Justice Parraguirre and Justice Pickering argued the law doesn’t plainly and unambiguously give the state engineer the power to depart from long standing rules basing priority on when the water rights were appropriated to the holder and also argued the plan allows an unconstitutional “taking” of private property without just compensation. Both dissenting opinions were joined by Justice Silver. The Southern Nevada Water Authority’s decision to shelve its project to move water from White Pine County to southern Nevada was a huge relief, however, new applications to export water will always be a concern and that is why CNRWA will continue to monitor and protest applications for water that would harm Member Counties. Finally, Nevada is home to the only operating lithium mine in the United States which is located in Clayton Valley, Esmeralda County. The mine has been in operation since 1967and produces lithium carbonate from evaporation ponds which concentrate the lithium. According to the Nevada Division of Minerals, lithium exploration in Nevada has drastically increased in the past couple of years with the majority of claims filed in the Central Region. CNRWA is working with the State and industry to mitigate impacts of lithium mining to water resources. Managing water resources in the driest state is difficult enough but doing so in the midst of an extreme drought is nearly impossible. Nevada’s continued growth and industrial development creates additional demands and drought conditions threaten the sustainability of existing water supplies vital to the economies, health, and vitality of CNRWA Member Counties. CNRWA will continue working to accomplish its mission which is now more important than ever.

Jeff Fontaine serves as the Executive Director of the Central Nevada Regional Water Authority which is a unit of local government established by agreement of member counties in 2005. CNRWA formulates and presents a united position on water and water-related issues to the appropriate government entity (e.g., Nevada legislature, U.S. Congress, State of Nevada agencies, federal agencies and local government entities), monitors, assesses and responds to water projects that may adversely impact a member county, and encourages citizen participation in water and water-related issues of importance to member counties.