TIME: Almanac 1993/TIME Almanac 1993.iso/time/041591/0415105.000

Text File | 1992-08-30 | 5KB | 116 lines

                                                                                NATION, Page 37

Till the Well Runs Dry


Hooked on growth and the splash of fountains, Las Vegas plots a
water grab from rural Nevada and neighboring states

By JEANNE MCDOWELL/LAS VEGAS

    In Las Vegas the only sound that rivals the clink of
coins is the rush of water. At the Mirage, a flashy hotel
complex on the Strip, a cascading 39-ft.-high waterfall gushes
135 gal. per min. Fountains adorn the entranceways to banks,
hotels and condominiums. Development communities market
"waterfront living" on artificial lakes that sit like giant
puddles in the middle of the Mojave. Even the names -- Montego
Bay, Shoreline Estates, The Lakes -- reinforce the illusion that
water flows abundantly in this desert oasis.

    That image has fueled growth and filled the coffers of the
world's most famous gambling mecca. But to people living in the
surrounding rural counties, it is a symbol of the wastefulness
and city-slicker hubris that have pitted them against Las Vegas
in a bitter fight over the most precious resource in the West.
Faced with a drought and a water shortage that threaten future
growth, Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, has applied for
rights to all the unallocated underground water within its
boundaries and surrounding Nye, White Pine and Lincoln counties.
It is one of the biggest attempted water grabs in Western
history. If it succeeds, rural residents fear that Las Vegas'
fortunes will grow while theirs dwindle. "If they control the
water, no growth could happen without their approval," says
Steve Bradhurst, a consultant hired by Nye County to organize
the opposition. "They could seal our fate."

    Officials at the Las Vegas Valley Water District insist
that they had no alternative in 1989, when they filed 146
applications for water rights with the state engineer. Nevada's
share of federally allotted water from the Colorado River cannot
sustain growth in the booming oasis, which attracts 5,000
newcomers a month. Thirsty California, they argue, was
positioned to jump in and stake a claim to the unused water. "It
was our only Nevada source," says Pat Mulroy, general manager
of the water district.


    Opposing the huge project is an unlikely alliance of
ranchers and farmers, rural politicians, environmentalists,
Native Americans and federal agencies. More than 3,600 protests
have been filed with the state engineer, who begins hearings in
a few months. No one knows exactly what the long-term impact of
pumping so much water -- Las Vegas has requested 200,000
acre-ft. per year (an acre-ft. is 326,000 gal., or enough to
cover 1 acre with 1 ft. of water) -- will be on the complex
hydrologic system of the area. Environmentalists say excessive
pumping will dry up springs and wetlands, threatening numerous
endangered species, plants and wildlife from southeastern
California to Utah. The Federal Government plans to deny Las
Vegas permits to drill or transport water across its land until
an environmental-impact statement is prepared.

    Even with the government's support, it will be a tough
fight. Las Vegas is the seat of political and economic power in
Nevada. Sixty-five percent of the state's 1.3 million people
reside in Clark County. Development, gambling and tourism
industries, which generate two-thirds of the state's income,
want the extra water. "If we develop the water, and spend the
money, shouldn't we have the control?" asks Clark County
commissioner Paul Christensen.

    Such sentiments echo an enduring struggle over growth
between rural and urban communities throughout the West. Rural
towns, which have watched political power shift steadily away
from them -- Las Vegas controls 36 of the state legislature's
63 seats -- feel beleaguered and bypassed by urbanization.
Taking water that flows under their land seems the final straw.

    In divvying up water, Western experts say, noneconomic
contributions must be taken into consideration. "How do you
place a value on that student-body president from a small high
school who becomes a U.S. Senator?" asks University of New
Mexico law professor Charles DuMars. "How do you include that
into some reasonable process? If it's raw power without process,
people will die for that resource."

    In Nevada the absence of such a process has sparked deep
resentment among farmers and ranchers. "It's a whole way of
life, a piece of history," explains Joe Higbee, who runs a
100-acre ranch in Alamo along with his son Vaughn.

    One of the biggest complaints of rural residents is that
Las Vegas has not done enough to save the water it has.
Per-capita water consumption in the metropolitan area has
consistently been among the highest of Western cities: 366 gal.
daily compared with 200 gal. in Los Angeles. Recent restrictions
have reduced Vegas' consumption to 343 gal.

    While efforts at conservation have started to pay off, it
is still practically a foreign concept in this city of green
golf courses and lush lawns. Even if Clark County gets the
water from its rural neighbors, it must seriously begin to plan
for growth and the water shortages that are likely to worsen
throughout the West in coming decades. If it doesn't, Las Vegas
may be gambling its future away.