Southern Nevada Water Authority Issues

The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) is committed to managing the region's water resources and developing solutions that will ensure adequate future water supplies for the Las Vegas Valley. Current issues include stretching Nevada’s Colorado River allocation through conservation, weathering one of the most severe droughts in history along the Colorado River, and securing additional in-state water resources.

Conservation and Drought

In its efforts to make the best use of its water resources, SNWA has implemented one of the most aggressive and comprehensive water conservation programs in the nation. SNWA conservation rebates and services include:

Southern Nevada gets nearly 90 percent of its water from the Colorado River, which has experienced one of the worst droughts on record. To help mitigate the effects of the drought, SNWA member agencies developed a comprehensive Drought Plan to help the community reduce water use, particularly outdoors.

The conservation programs as well as community adherence to drought watering restrictions have helped saved billions of gallons of water each year. In 2005, SNWA customers used approximately 20 billion gallons less water than in 2002. This occurred despite the addition of an estimated 250,000 new residents since that time and nearly 40 million annual visitors.

Water Resource Planning

SNWA has developed a Water Resource Plan to reflect the rapidly changing conditions of water issues in the region. The plan provides a comprehensive overview of water resources and demands in Southern Nevada, and it outlines several principal strategies and a portfolio of resources that may be used to meet future water demands. SNWA annually reviews the Water Resource Plan and updates it as needed. The 2006 Water Resource Plan represents the sixth revision in nine years.

In-state Water Resources

With an annual allocation of 300,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water, Southern Nevada receives the smallest allotment of the seven basin states that share the river. In addition, approximately 46,000 acre-feet of permanent groundwater rights within the Las Vegas Valley hydrographic basin are permitted to SNWA purveyor members.

To ensure the Las Vegas Valley has enough water for the future, SNWA has identified three distinct in-state projects to help diversity its water resources portfolio. Each of these projects is independent of the other and are located in various geographic locations in Nevada with different timelines for development.

The groundwater projects could yield from 125,000 to 200,000 acre-feet of groundwater per year. The Water Authority currently is participating in the public and stakeholder process related to its water rights applications with the Nevada State Engineer and rights-of-way applications with the Bureau of Land Management.

SNWA has rights to up to 190,000 acre-feet of Virgin River surface water each year, with a long-term annual average diversion of 113,000 acre-feet per year. In addition, SNWA may access about 7,000 acre-feet of Muddy River water each year.

Due to the historic 2006 Basin States Agreement among the seven states that share the Colorado River, the Water Authority has agreed to temporarily forego development of Virgin River water rights received after the Boulder Canyon Project Act (one of several documents that collectively govern the river) was enacted.

However, SNWA will continue with necessary environmental studies associated with receiving rights-of-way from the BLM.

Environmental Initiatives

SNWA is committed to environmental responsibility and goes beyond the steps necessary to ensure statutory compliance. In early 2006, for example, SNWA entered into a series of agreements related to water development in northeast Clark County. This multi-party accord, which included the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Moapa Band of Paiutes and several other stakeholders, will help protect sensitive environmental resources, increase the certainty of that area's water supplies and facilitiate water resource development in that area.

SNWA has participated in a number of environmental initiatives and coalitions, including:

Through staff time, grants and other considerations, SNWA has invested more than $10 million and thousands of staff hours in programs and activities directly related to environmental protection. Specifically related to endangered species, SNWA has actively supported research related to federally endangered fish. This research was not required for project compliance, but was conducted because it is central to SNWA's environmental ethic and it provides the basis for scientifically sound decisions.