[frischee112]

What do you recommend then? If land runs out then people will build up. Growth is inevitable, so how do we meet demand? Share water rights with California? Utah? Drill deeper? Recycle all waste water?

[sarahkate_m]

Originally Posted by frischee112

Hear me out, obviously it would be expensive but what about an aqueduct? Carrying water from the Los Angeles coast to Las Vegas where it would be desalinized (or possibly distilled using the heat in death valley). Waste water could also be reused. This would create an ever lasting supply of water and allow growth to continue. People could probably even have lawns again. Comments?

Wouldn't rerouting the gray water to the lawn be a good solution for that part of the problem?

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by sarahkate_m

Wouldn't rerouting the gray water to the lawn be a good solution for that part of the problem?

In another of those odd twists the answer is gewnerally no. SNWA gets a credit for returns to the Colorado. So waste water is exchangable for fresh water. If you run it to the lawn it simple evaporates with no credit.

On a bigger scale most of the golf courses are in fact watered with recycled water. But that is really a logistic thing.

What to do about all this is a real conundrum. The real problems are all political. Las Vegas for instance culd easily afford to buy the rights to water from the central valley at quite inflated prices. But CA will not allow that.

Eventually it may be neccessary to reopen the famed water agreement on the Colorado. But note that may well be a 50 year negotiation and legal struggle.

And it is actually much more complex than it appears. The upper basin states and tribes have huge rights they don't exercise. What happens if they do?

Vegas should nail down everything it can and then hold on. That will likely take us to 2050 or so.

[jhiker1o]

Originally Posted by bayview6

Las Vegas will probably continue to grow until it runs out of water. Not sure when that will occur. Probably looking at rationing before the elected idiots do anything.

NV need to increase its share of the Colorado River for future of all Nevadans, heck even Mexico receives far more on allocation of the Colorado River. Water recycling will continue and improve but Lake Mead can only receive so much of recycled water then the water at Lake Mead becomes unhealthy for personal use. It needs water from the Colorado River to balance out the recycled water that flows back to Lake Mead. Around 94% of water in NV gets recycled and flows back to Lake Mead last time I checked. NV need new sources of water and it needs to act and negotiate now in finding them whether in State or out of State.

[tr00th]

What about all that water in the midwest, all the flood water and river water they have too much of....if only you could make it so the extra water they have could be used to fill up Lake Mead and the other lakes in the West...kill two birds with one stone I say.

But how to go about doing that?

[dynimagelv]

Gettimg it over the Rockies is the stopper

[bayview6]

Originally Posted by olecapt

Nope. Surface water for instance is often used long distances from the source. Western water law has never had a local use requirement.

Water rights can't be moved between basins. But once you have a right to the water you can do whatever with it as long as the use is in that long list of beneficial use..

Water law is very difficult to change. Particularly the underlying principle. I doubt very much any significant change is likely.

We are not talking about surface water, are we? Any "right" is something that the Courts usually decide. They are not etched in stone unless they are in the Constitution. Ultimately, public policy determines which course of action is best for the water in the northern counties because any property right is subservient to the best interests of the People of the State of Nevada.

[bayview6]

Originally Posted by frischee112

What do you recommend then? If land runs out then people will build up. Growth is inevitable, so how do we meet demand? Share water rights with California? Utah? Drill deeper? Recycle all waste water?

I don't know where you get the idea that population increases in Las Vegas are inevitable past our current supply of water.

If our elected Officials were smart they would put in place strict limits on future development and focus instead on improving the economic and educational base for Clark County. 2 million people are more than enough folks for the Las Vegas basin.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by bayview6

We are not talking about surface water, are we? Any "right" is something that the Courts usually decide. They are not etched in stone unless they are in the Constitution. Ultimately, public policy determines which course of action is best for the water in the northern counties because any property right is subservient to the best interests of the People of the State of Nevada.

Actually there is no distinction in water law between surface and subsurface water...basically all the same law and principles. Water law seldom gets to court. The actually decisions are made by the State Engineer and are generally not appealable. And the State Engineer basically answers to nobody...the governor can fire him but not overrule him.

The State Engineer is heavlily embedded in the Constitution.

The recent SNWA case got into court based upon whether the State Engineer was following the procedure in the statutes...he clearly wasn't. But the Supreme Court basically punted and said do it over. The rub of course dealt with timing. It required that things be resolved in time periods that could not posslbiy be met and which were ignored.

Property rights can be overcome by eminent domain. But then you have to pay the property owner. And that is where all the well problems come from. If for instance you wish to protect the Pahrump aquifer you will likely have to shed half the users. As you do this you make their land pretty much worthless. So sure the State can protect the aguifer...all you need is couple of hundred million dollars to pay off the owners.

And in general the northern counties play hell trumping Clark. It ain't gonna happen. So the north can sputter and carry on but they lack any control. If anything limits the rights of southern Nevada it will be the discussions with Utah.

[dynimagelv]

ol James Ray Houstons idea of seceeding frmo the union is looking better n better....we seceed build a fence around the state and have STRICT imigration controls