The Nevada Supreme Court has affirmed the state engineer’s authority to merge multiple water basins into one hydrographic “superbasin,” a decision that could profoundly affect groundwater management in the state and overrides a lower court’s finding that the state engineer had overstepped its authority. At the heart of the dispute was State Engineer Order 1309, which proposed combining seven basins into a single entity. This initiative aimed to address concerns about groundwater overappropriation in Nevada, particularly in an area northeast of Las Vegas where developers envisioned a new city. 

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