The federal government recently declared a tier two water shortage status for states dependent on the Colorado River.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto on Monday, along with the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, called on the federal government to release millions of dollars in funds to help those seven states, including Nevada.
Las Vegas uses less water now than 20 years ago and is a leader in water conservation. That’s why she said it was so “disappointing” that the U.S. Department of the Interior said Nevada will face an additional 8% cuts in its annual water allocation for 2023.
The percentage cut for each state was decided in a 2007 agreement.
She said she thinks states like Nevada should be prioritized for its water conservation efforts and wants the federal government to do more to ensure fairness.
“First, I’m demanding a detailed plan within the next 90 days from the Department of the Interior, about how they will distribute the $4 billion in funding that I secured in the Inflation Reduction Act to combat the drought," she said. "And I’m urging them to distribute this funding as quickly as possible and prioritize the funding. This is very clear and it’s written in the language and my goal was to make this very specific, prioritize that funding for those states that are engaging in meaningful and long-term and permanent reductions in their water use.”
About $8 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and $4 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act have yet to be disbursed.
"The Department of the Interior must ensure that all states engage in long-term water conservation efforts," said John Entsminger, the head of Southern Nevada Water Authority.
Entsminger said Nevada is at the forefront in its water conservation efforts and the federal government should distribute funds prioritizing states taking long term water conservation steps.
“We need a real plan, we need a real deadline and we must use these once-in-a-generation federal resources for permanent, systemic water reductions in water use across the basin," he said. "I believe we can get there but we’re going to need the federal government to, in a realistic way, address the 12 points from my letter last week.”
On Aug. 15, Entsminger sent a letter to the federal government with his conservation recommendations for all states across the west which are dependent on the Colorado River.
SNWA General Manager John Entsminger delivered this letter today to the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Reclamation. pic.twitter.com/1ZwW5rXcc3
— Southern Nevada Water Authority (@SNWA_H2O) August 15, 2022
When asked how other states compare with Nevada, Entsminger said some states are now "beginning to pick up the pace."
"Gov. [Steve] Sisolak signed Assembly Bill 356 just June of 2021 and we’ve already seen that nonfunctional turf elimination program adopted for the first time in the city of Aurora, Colorado, included in Gov. [Gavin] Newsom’s drought orders, deployed to a more limited extent in St. George and Salt Lake City. So the stuff that we’re doing is spreading. I just think our partners need to pick up the pace,” he said.
Nevadans have already implemented removing lawns and converting to drought-resistant landscaping. And the Southern Nevada Water Authority plans to reduce water use from 110 gallons per person per day to 86 gallons by 2035.
