Mulroy, Patricia

English

Colorado Law

University of Colorado Law School Colorado Law Scholarly Commons Water Organizations in a Changing West (Summer Conference, June 14-16) 1993 6-14-1993 Water Organizations in the West Patricia Mulroy Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/water-organizations-in-changing-west  Part of the Hydrology Commons, Land Use Law Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Law Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, State and Local Government Law Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons, Water Law Commons, and the Water Resource Management Commons Citation Information Mulroy, Patricia, "Water Organizations in the West" (1993). Water Organizations in a Changing West (Summer Conference, June 14-16). https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/water-organizations-in-changing-west/7 Reproduced with permission of the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment (formerly the Natural Resources Law Center) at the University of Colorado Law School.     Patricia Mulroy, Water Organizations in the West, in WATER ORGANIZATIONS IN A CHANGING WEST (Natural Res. Law Ctr., Univ. of Colo. Sch. of Law 1993).  Reproduced with permission of the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment (formerly the Natural Resources Law Center) at the University of Colorado Law School.  WATER ORGANISATIONS IN THE WESTPatricia MulroyGeneral ManagerLas Vegas Valley Water DistrictSouthern Nevada Water AuthorityWater Organisations in a Changing WestNatural Resources Law CenterUniversity of Colorado School of LawJune 14-16, 1993C'I. LAS VEGAS VALLEY WATER DISTRICTA. HistoryThe Las Vegas Valley Water District (District) wascreated by special act of the Nevada Legislature in 1947. Atthat time, the Union Pacific Railroad owned and operated theLas Vegas Land and Water Company (LVL&W), the principalprovider of water to Las Vegas. Beyond the city limits manysmall private water companies had also developed. In 1952,the Railroad agreed to sell LVL&W to the District for $2.5million. The District issued bonds in 1954 to raise funds forthat purchase and for construction of facilities to deliverColorado River water from Lake Mead through the BasicManagement Inc. (BMI) system in Henderson to Las Vegas. TheDistrict officially began operation on July 1, 1954, and thefirst delivery of water from the BMI system to Las Vegas wasaccomplished on September 26, 1955.In 1960, design began on the two-stage Southern NevadaWater System (SNWS) to treat and transmit Lake Mead water toLas Vegas. Construction of the 200 mgpd first stage began in1968. In 1971, the first water from the SNWS was delivered toLas Vegas. Construction of the second stage began in 1977 andwas completed in 1982, increasing system capacity to 400million gallons per day.The District is the largest purveyor of drinking water inNevada, with 85% of water delivered being supplied by theSNWS; the remaining 15% is groundwater pumped from Districtwells. A statistical comparison of "then" and "now":1954 	1992 Producing Wells	 11	41Reservoirs	 2	16Pumping Stations	10	 • 18Miles of Pipe	 116	1,854Customer Accounts	8,405	143,394Water Production	5.2 billion gal.	 80.0 billion gal.(incl. art. recharge)Average Consumption	 14.2 mgpd	204.0 mgpdPopulation Served	 40,760	 (est)	640,000	 (est)1slB. Conservation - "Leadership by Example"1. Water conservation is the District's first step inprotecting its valuable natural resource andassuring adequate future water supplies. Effectivewater management through conservation and researchwill help optimize current and future waterresources. Conservation is the cheapest "new"source of water, and can be achieved throughregulations, voluntary measures and effectivepublic education. Several ordinances have beenadopted:a. Landscape guidelines for new developmentb. Prohibition of man-made lakes forrecreational, scenic or decorative purposes,and restriction of the use of other waterfeaturesc. Definition and procedures for enforcing "waterwaste"2. The District has also implemented numerous internalconservation procedures, such as:a. Utilizing a consumption threshold based onservice sizeb. Metering all water usesc. Pressure testing of new constructiond. Cathodic protection and monitoringe. Reservoir rehabilitation, well rehabilitationand water main replacement programs, and valveexercising and meter maintenance programsf. Rapid response to reports of system leaks andinvestigation of high bill inquiriesg. Utilization of a Supervisory Control And DataAcquisition (SCADA) computer system toidentify flow by pressure zone, reservoirstorage and pump operation, enabling rapidresponse to emergencies2C. Research ProjectsIn addition to conservation programs, the District isinvolved in several research projects to further extendand protect Las Vegas' current water supply. Theseinclude:1. Artificial RechargeThe District injects treated Colorado River waterinto the groundwater system in the Las Vegas Valleyin the low-demand winter months for use in higherdemand periods. The program began in 1988, when1,150 acre-feet was injected; approximately 16,000acre-feet was stored in 1992. The District has thelargest deep-well injection program in the world.2. Shallow Water AquiferAlthough the water in the Las Vegas Valley's near-surface shallow aquifer is not suitable for humanconsumption, it may be a viable source of water forirrigating turf areas during peak summer demands.The District, in conjunction with Clark CountyComprehensive Planning, the University of NevadaCollege of Agriculture, and the Nevada CooperativeExtension have initiated a study to that willevaluate the application of this water toturfgrass.3. EvapotranspirationThe District, the University of Nevada College ofAgriculture, and the Nevada Cooperative Extensionconducted a study of water use andevapotranspiration rates of various turfgrasses andtrees common to the Las Vegas area. Thisinformation is publicized for area residents to usein scheduling landscape irrigation.4. Urban RunoffSurface water runoff from urban areas may gathercontaminants which can ultimately reach Lake Mead3via the Las Vegas Wash. In a project with theDesert Research Institute, the District isattempting to quantify the chemistry of surfaceflows in selected drainages in an effort to protectthe water quality in Lake Mead.D. Public Education ProgramThe District's public education program targets schools,businesses, resorts, governmental agencies, residentialusers, and developers. Among the methods used to reachthe various target markets are:1. A speakers bureau available to groups andbusinesses2. Brochures, handbooks and pamphlets on a variety ofwater related topics3. Displays for conventions, trade shows and otherpublic functions4. A demonstration garden featuring over 170 drought-tolerant and native plant species to illustratealternatives to traditional landscaping5. Seminars to provide information on conservation,and videos and slide programs that complement thespeakers bureau and workshops6. A water conservation "hotline" to answer questionsand give customers advice on water savingtechniques7. Print and electronic media campaigns to addvisibility to conservation effortsII. SOUTHERN NEVADA WATER AUTHORITYHistoryThe Southern Nevada Water Authority was created in 1991due to a need to address water on a regional basis rather thanan individual purveyor basis, which was recognized as part ofa consensus-building effort called the "WRMI Process." All ofthe water-related entities in southern Nevada were involved inthis process, the formation of a water management model. Themembers of the Authority are the cities of Boulder City,Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, and the Big BendWater District, Clark County Sanitation District and the LasVegas Valley Water District.1. Some of the major reasons for the creation of theSouthern Nevada Water Authority were:a. To form a. regional entity acceptable to theSecretary of the Interior and Nevada'sColorado River Commission to contract for theremaining unallocated portion of Nevada'sColorado River water. It is unlikely that theSecretary would contract directly with theindividual water purveyors because thepurveyors cannot guarantee that sufficientsewer return flows would be generated tosatisfy the contracts.b. To address water resource management and waterconservation on a regional basis.c. To plan, manage and develop additionalsupplies of water for southern Nevada. Thiscan best be achieved if all entities act in aunified and a cooperative manner to the endthat southern Nevada will have sufficientwater for use now and in the future.d. To allocate the remaining Colorado River waterand any other water that becomes available tosouthern Nevada among the water purveyors.5e. To manage all water supplies available tosouthern Nevada through an approved "waterbudget" which balances the use of potablewater, sewer return flows to the ColoradoRiver, and the reuse of sewer effluent. Thiscan only be accomplished on a regional basis.f. To address shortage sharing in periods ofdrought in the Colorado River such that allpurveyors share in a shortage equally. Again,this can only be accomplished on a regionalbasis.g. To present a unified position on water issuesfacing southern Nevada and to operate regionalfacilities (such as the Southern Nevada WaterSystem (pumping and treatment facility on LakeMead) and artificial recharge programs) in amanner which will satisfy all water purveyors'needs.2. A summary of the major articles of the CooperativeAgreement follows:a. The boundaries of the Authority are all ofClark County, Nevada.b. The contract with the Secretary of theInterior and Nevada's Colorado RiverCommission for the remaining unallocatedColorado River water is with the Authority,and the Authority will deliver that water tothe purveyor members.c. The Authority could, with approval of the LasVegas Valley Water District, acquire therights to and develop and implement theCooperative Water Project initiated by theWater District for surface and groundwater innorthern Clark, Lincoln, Nye and White PineCounties.6d. The Authority will contract for or constructthe necessary capital facilities to deliverthe Authority's water to the purveyor members.e. The Authority cannot acquire any existingwater rights or property of a member withoutthat member's approval.f. The Agreement sets forth a method ofallocating the first 108,000 acre-feet ofwater acquired by the Authority. Allocationsof water acquired above 108,000 acre-feet willbe made by the Board of Directors of theAuthority with approval of the governingboards of each of the purveyor members. TheAuthority will also allocate temporary wateravailable to southern Nevada by use of amethod identified in the Agreement.g. The entitlements to Colorado River water underthe existing Southern Nevada Water System(SNWS) contracts become fixed in amounts setforth in the Agreement. This will avoidfuture conflicts among the existing SNWS usersconcerning the "use it or lose it" allocationformula which is in the existing SNWScontracts.h. The Water District will be permitted todeliver its 15,407 acre-feet of Colorado Riverwater through the SNWS. Presently the WaterDistrict has a separate contract for 15,407acre-feet of Colorado River water but noapproved method for delivery of this water.i. The amount of sewer reuse permitted by amember is set forth in the Agreement, andthereby no member can reuse to the detrimentof another member.j. The City of Henderson agrees that it will7begin returning effluent to the Las Vegas Washto generate additional return flow credits.k. All members are required to implement certainwater conservation standards as defined in theAgreement.1. The Board of the Authority consists of sevendirectors -- one director for each member.Each member may also select an alternatedirector.m. Five of the members in the Agreement areidentified as "purveyor members" (cities ofBoulder City, Henderson and North Las Vegas,and Big Bend Water District and Las VegasValley Water District).n. Some actions of the Board of the Authorityalso require approval of the governing boardsof each member. Others require approval ofthe governing boards of the purveyor members 	 /Thonly, and some actions require only a 2/3 voteof the directors of the Authority. Routineitems require only a majority vote of thedirectors of the Authority.o. The Board of the Authority annually selects aChairman and Vice-Chairman from its memberdirectors.p. The Board of the Authority is responsible forhiring a General Manager who hires staff to beresponsible for the proper and efficientadministration of the Authority.q. Operating budgets are approved by the Board ofthe Authority and funds for those budgets arederived from assessments to the members.

Water Organizations in the West

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Water Organizations in the West

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