Water negotiations between the seven Colorado River basin states are at a stalemate. Talks remain stalled despite the Bureau of Reclamation’s Feb. 14 deadline.
Nevada’s representative in those negotiations -- John Entsminger, general manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority -- gave an update to KNPR’s State of Nevada. Some key takeaways:
- The main sticking point: The upper basin states (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) disagree with the conservation guidelines of the lower basin states (California, Arizona, and Nevada) -- the latter being the biggest water users among the basin states.
- Why is establishing guidelines early in the year so important? It dictates the operations for the following year. “You need to know: What is the release from [Lake] Powell to [Lake] Mead going to be?” Entsminger said. “What are the releases from the upper initial units going to be? What are the water orders from lower basin contractors going to be?”
- What about desalinated water from the Pacific Ocean? In short: It’s too expensive. “We charge about $350 an acre-foot to deliver water to our member agencies,” Enstminger said. “Desalinated water costs about $2,200. So, you can do it, but it's going to come at a cost to your ratepayers.” An alternative plan includes a Metropolitan Water District of Southern California program that purifies wastewater for the Golden State, leaving more water in Lake Mead.
- The Bureau of Reclamation has set a new deadline for mid-summer. If no agreement is reached, negotiations could result in litigation -- though Enstminger says any legal path could be complicated.
- Water will come to Southern Nevada regardless of any stalemate or decreased accumulation, as SNWA installed $1.5 billion worth of infrastructure to ensure a 10-year supply, even if water from Lake Mead can no longer flow downstream. “I know things are dire, but [with] all of the climate scientists I've listened to, all the hydrologists I've listened to, I don't believe water not flowing through the Grand Canyon is a realistic scenario,” Enstminger said. “I think Las Vegas is, and will remain, the most water secure city in the desert southwest.”
John Entsminger general manager, Southern Nevada Water Authority
