Water bills advance as lawmakers from both parties back more agency funding
Nevada is the nation’s driest state, and it’s hard not to argue water is one of its most valuable resources. Water supports communities and ecosystems in countless ways — every day. Yet the state agency most responsible for managing water rights is underfunded. At a meeting Tuesday morning, a bipartisan group of lawmakers agreed to do something about it. During the Tuesday hearing on the agency’s budget, Assemblyman Howard Watts (D-Las Vegas) made a motion to increase the governor’s recommended budget for the Division of Water Resources by about $3.1 million over the next two years to address backlogs and gaps in staffing. The motion was unanimously approved by the budget committee.
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