With an average rainfall of less than five inches, the Great Basin stretches from the Great Salt Lake to the Sierra Nevada and from Idaho to southern California. Within the Great Basin applications for water rights use and transfer are being filed at an unprecedented rate, which, if approved, would have an immediate and long-term impact on the land, wildlife and residents in the area. Las Vegas is booming and the demand for water has led to a proposal to pipe ground water from the Great Basin some 400 miles to the city. Many are critical of the fact that Las Vegas authorities make little effort to curb the wasteful use of water.

A Utah geological survey has projected that the proposed pipeline would cause up to a 100ft drop in the water table. The Great Basin Water Network is an umbrella organisation created to protect the water resources of the area. It is urging politicians to do more for the conservation of water, including the strengthening of enforcement penalties for water inefficiency or overuse. Cities such as Phoenix and Tucson have policies in place that have reduced water consumption but Las Vegas, with its thirsty golf courses and evaporating fountains, does little to minimise the per capita consumption that is more than double that of the other desert cities.

The Basin and Range Carbonate Aquifer System Study (BARCASS) was commissioned to give a better understanding and evaluation of regional groundwater flow. Many believe the study should be completed before the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) pipeline gets ‘right of way’ approval from the Bureau of Land Management or groundwater rights from the Nevada Office of the State Engineer. The Great Basin Water Network is also pushing for funding for a second phase of the BARCASS study to determine potential impact and to conduct test pumping before agency decisions are made.

In this so-called modern age with supposed due care and attention given to environmental issues, it would seem that such a study and such considerations would be taken into account before any decisions reached. According to the Network, much of the problem is propelled by the ‘all growth is good’ economic model. In 1913 the Los Angeles Aqueduct was completed, a 233-mile public works project that required over 2000 workers and 164 tunnels to be built. Metropolitan Los Angeles grew and thrived but by 1928 the source of the water, the 100 square mile Owens Lake in Central California, was completely dry.

The SNWA pipeline proposal is not the only project threatening to deplete the water resources of the Great Basin. The North Valleys Pipeline Project would drain water to promote growth in the Reno-Sparks area. The Coyote Springs Project would create an artificial oasis with golf courses and vacation homes north of Las Vegas. There is also a proposal for three coal-fired power plants using Great Basin water for cooling, providing electricity exclusively for California. However, the pipeline to Las Vegas is the major concern for the rural communities that will be affected.

It is good to see a vibrant Las Vegas, a city expected to grow faster than any other in the United States over the next 20 years. The casino companies have embraced policies for promoting responsible gambling; it is now time for them to embrace environmental responsibility too. Both the state of Nevada and its gambling industry that is driving development must do more to ensure that water is conserved and recycled. Much of the world already knows that water is more precious than gold. (E-08.17.06)

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