Topic: Nevada

Overview

Nevada

As adjacent Western states, California and Nevada share similar issues related to drought and limited water resources. Both states are participants in the 1922 Colorado River Compact and the 2003 and 2007 Quantification Settlement Agreements to allocate Colorado River deliveries. Also, about two-thirds of Lake Tahoe lies in California and one-third in Nevada, and the two states have formed a compact to work together on environmental goals for the lake.

Aquafornia news The Hill

US West hydropower production plunged to 22-year low last year

Hydropower generation in the U.S. West plunged to a 22-year low last year — dropping 11 percent from the year before, according to a new federal data analysis. The total amount produced in the region amounted to 141.5 million megawatt-hours, or about 60 percent of the country’s total hydroelectricity output in the 2022-23 “water year,” per the data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). … On the other hand, a series of atmospheric rivers in California spurred an increase in hydroelectricity production in the Golden State — nearly doubling it in comparison to the previous water year, the analysis noted. 

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Aquafornia news 8 News - Las Vegas

Better snowpack for Colorado River may fend off ‘whiplash’ of recent years

Snowfall this week in the Rockies has improved the water picture for the Colorado River, but one expert says she’s not counting her chickens before they’re hatched. Current information on the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s website shows that snowpack levels in the Upper Colorado River Basin are at 110% of normal for this time of year. That’s an improvement over March 1 when it was at 101%. … important weeks are still ahead, even though the snowpack peak is typically measured on April 1 each year. 

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Aquafornia news Newsweek

Before and after pictures show key difference in Nevada snowpack

Photos recently shared by the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Las Vegas revealed a key difference in snowpack levels between this year and last year. After years of drought, an abnormally wet winter produced more than a dozen atmospheric rivers that brought a deluge of rain and snow to the region. A similarly wet winter has happened this year, with multiple atmospheric rivers bringing torrential downpours to California, Nevada, and other western states. However, despite the storms, the region’s snowfall hasn’t been as impressive as it was last year. 

Aquafornia news E&E News by POLITICO

States grapple with how to grow in drying West

Across the parched West, there are signs the region’s decades-long population and housing boom is confronting the realities of dwindling water supplies. These have come in recent months from court rulings and executive edicts alike, as states crack down on the potential for new users to draw from already oversubscribed aquifers and surface waters. The skeleton of a would-be subdivision outside Las Vegas illustrates the coming constraints, stymied by a lack of water to support the new community. Water shortages also forced difficult decisions in other places, such as new restrictions in the Phoenix suburbs and a Utah town that halted all new construction for more than two years until it could secure a new well.

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Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

‘We can do better’ – Western states divided over long-term plans for Colorado River water

With climate change compounding the strains on the Colorado River, seven Western states are starting to consider long-term plans for reducing water use to prevent the river’s reservoirs from reaching critically low levels in the years to come. But negotiations among representatives of the states have so far failed to resolve disagreements. And now, two groups of states are proposing competing plans for addressing the river’s chronic gap between supply and demand. In one camp, the three states in the river’s lower basin — California, Arizona and Nevada — say their approach would share the largest-ever water reductions throughout the Colorado River Basin to ensure long-term sustainability. 

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Aquafornia news Nevada Current

Impacts of court groundwater decision still a long way off, top water regulator tells Nevada lawmakers

After years of groundwater decline and failed legislative action, a court decision in January affirmed the state’s right to limit groundwater pumping using the most current scientific data, but full implementation of the ruling may take some time. Last week, the state engineer — Nevada’s top water regulator — expanded on how the state will manage water resources in the aftermath of the recent Nevada Supreme Court decision that affirmed the state’s authority to develop science-based solutions to over-pumping, including managing surface water and groundwater as a single connected source when determining water rights. In the coming years, the court’s decision will have sweeping ramifications for Nevada, state engineer Adam Sullivan told lawmakers.

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Publication Colorado River Basin Map

Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River Basin
Updated 2024

Cover of Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Basin

Learn the history and challenges facing the West’s most dramatic and developed river. 

The Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River Basin introduces the 1,450-mile river that sustains 40 million people and millions of acres of farmland spanning seven states and parts of northern Mexico.

The 28-page primer explains how the river’s water is shared and managed as the Southwest transitions to a hotter and drier climate.

Aquafornia news Las Vegas Review-Journal

Snorklers count endangered Nevada fish outside Las Vegas

Kevin Guadalupe walked along the banks of the stream as Montana Stevens, outfitted in snorkel gear, popped his head out of the water to report how many fish he’d seen. “Two adults, two juveniles,” … Both were among the group of surveyors from several different agencies who recently snorkeled while inching forward in essentially a flat crawl in the warm, shallow streams and springs that comprise the headwaters of the Muddy River, about 60 miles northeast of Las Vegas near Moapa. The count showed that the population of the fish, which only exists in these waters — about six miles worth of streams and springs in the Southern Nevada desert — appears to be stable and similar to the numbers over the past few years.

Aquafornia news The New York Times

Courts give states new power to protect groundwater

After years of dangerous decline in the nation’s groundwater, a series of developments in Western states indicate that state and federal officials may begin tightening protections for the dwindling resource. In Nevada, Idaho and Montana, a string of court decisions have strengthened states’ ability to restrict overpumping of groundwater. California is considering penalizing local officials for draining their aquifers. And the White House has asked scientists who focus on groundwater to advise how the federal government can help. 

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Aquafornia news The Associated Press

Climate change, cost and competition for water drive settlement over tribal rights to Colorado River

A Native American tribe with one of the largest outstanding claims to water in the Colorado River basin is closing in on a settlement with more than a dozen parties, putting it on a path to piping water to tens of thousands of tribal members in Arizona who still live without it. Negotiating terms outlined late Wednesday include water rights not only for the Navajo Nation but the neighboring Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes in the northeastern corner of the state. The water would come from a mix of sources: the Colorado River that serves seven western states, the Little Colorado River, and aquifers and washes on tribal lands. The agreement is decades in the making and would allow the tribes to avoid further litigation and court proceedings, which have been costly.

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Aquafornia news Las Vegas Review-Journal

Colorado River water supply a serious problem for most Nevadans, poll says

More than 70 percent of Nevadans consider water supply and lowering river levels a serious issue, but only a little more than half believe climate change is, a Colorado College poll released Wednesday shows. Water continues to be a hot-button issue for voters who are looking for leaders who can best address diminishing water availability as the Colorado River faces historic challenges. Nevada, the driest state in the nation, is second only to Arizona among Western states for concern about water. … Though water appears to be at the top of most Nevadans’ priority lists, only 56 percent of state residents feel climate change is an extremely or very serious problem.

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Aquafornia news Las Vegas Sun News

Nevada water law ruling backs state engineer’s powers, further stalls Coyote Springs project

Conservationists are calling a recent decision by the Nevada Supreme Court updating the state’s water law a significant victory because the ruling paves the way for the state to restrict groundwater pumping if it will affect other users and wildlife. The court’s decision last month gives the state’s top water official the authority to regulate how underground supplies are distributed. The ruling, a blow to stalled plans for the Coyote Springs master-planned community north of Las Vegas, enhances the survival for an endangered species of fish native only to natural springs in the area. The Center for Biological Diversity was a respondent in the case to protect the Moapa dace, a rare fish that only resides in the warm springs of the upper Muddy River and earned endangered status in 1967. 

Tour Nick Gray

Lower Colorado River Tour 2024
Field Trip - March 13-15

Tour participants gathered for a group photo in front of Hoover DamThis tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.

Hilton Garden Inn Las Vegas Strip South
7830 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89123
Tour Nick Gray

Eastern Sierra Tour 2023
Field Trip - September 12-15

This special Foundation water tour journeyed along the Eastern Sierra from the Truckee River to Mono Lake, through the Owens Valley and into the Mojave Desert to explore a major source of water for Southern California, this year’s snowpack and challenges for towns, farms and the environment.

Grand Sierra Resort
2500 E 2nd St
Reno, NV 89595

As Drought Shrinks the Colorado River, A SoCal Giant Seeks Help from River Partners to Fortify its Local Supply
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Metropolitan Water District's wastewater recycling project draws support from Arizona and Nevada, which hope to gain a share of Metropolitan's river supply

Metropolitan Water District's advanced water treatment demonstration plant in Carson. Momentum is building for a unique interstate deal that aims to transform wastewater from Southern California homes and business into relief for the stressed Colorado River. The collaborative effort to add resiliency to a river suffering from overuse, drought and climate change is being shaped across state lines by some of the West’s largest water agencies.  

Tour Nick Gray

Lower Colorado River Tour 2023
Field Trip - March 8-10

This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.

Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
Tour Nick Gray

Lower Colorado River Tour 2022
Field Trip - March 16-18

The lower Colorado River has virtually every drop allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.

Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139

As Climate Change Turns Up The Heat in Las Vegas, Water Managers Try to Wring New Savings to Stretch Supply
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Rising temperatures are expected to drive up water demand as historic drought in the Colorado River Basin imperils Southern Nevada’s key water source

Las Vegas has reduced its water consumption even as its population has increased. Las Vegas, known for its searing summertime heat and glitzy casino fountains, is projected to get even hotter in the coming years as climate change intensifies. As temperatures rise, possibly as much as 10 degrees by end of the century, according to some models, water demand for the desert community is expected to spike. That is not good news in a fast-growing region that depends largely on a limited supply of water from an already drought-stressed Colorado River.

Lower Colorado River Tour 2021
A Virtual Journey - May 20

This event explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour. 

Western Water Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

With Drought Plan in Place, Colorado River Stakeholders Face Even Tougher Talks Ahead On The River’s Future
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Talks are about to begin on a potentially sweeping agreement that could reimagine how the Colorado River is managed

Lake Mead, behind Hoover Dam, shows the effects of nearly two decades of drought. Even as stakeholders in the Colorado River Basin celebrate the recent completion of an unprecedented drought plan intended to stave off a crashing Lake Mead, there is little time to rest. An even larger hurdle lies ahead as they prepare to hammer out the next set of rules that could vastly reshape the river’s future.

Set to expire in 2026, the current guidelines for water deliveries and shortage sharing, launched in 2007 amid a multiyear drought, were designed to prevent disputes that could provoke conflict.

Lower Colorado River Tour 2020
Field Trip - March 11-13

This tour explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour. 

Silverton Hotel
3333 Blue Diamond Road
Las Vegas, NV 89139
Western Water Jenn Bowles Colorado River Basin Map Jennifer Bowles

Domino Effect: As Arizona Searches For a Unifying Voice, a Drought Plan for the Lower Colorado River Is Stalled
EDITOR'S NOTE: Finding solutions to the Colorado River — or any disputed river —may be the most important role anyone can play

Nowhere is the domino effect in Western water policy played out more than on the Colorado River, and specifically when it involves the Lower Basin states of California, Nevada and Arizona. We are seeing that play out now as the three states strive to forge a Drought Contingency Plan. Yet that plan can’t be finalized until Arizona finds a unifying voice between its major water players, an effort you can read more about in the latest in-depth article of Western Water.

Even then, there are some issues to resolve just within California.

Western Water Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

As Colorado River Levels Drop, Pressure Grows On Arizona To Complete A Plan For Water Shortages
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: A dispute over who speaks for Arizona has stalled work with California, Nevada on Drought Contingency Plan

Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

It’s high-stakes time in Arizona. The state that depends on the Colorado River to help supply its cities and farms — and is first in line to absorb a shortage — is seeking a unified plan for water supply management to join its Lower Basin neighbors, California and Nevada, in a coordinated plan to preserve water levels in Lake Mead before they run too low.

If the lake’s elevation falls below 1,075 feet above sea level, the secretary of the Interior would declare a shortage and Arizona’s deliveries of Colorado River water would be reduced by 320,000 acre-feet. Arizona says that’s enough to serve about 1 million households in one year.

Tour

Lower Colorado River Tour 2018

Lower Colorado River Tour participants at Hoover Dam.

We explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.

Hampton Inn Tropicana
4975 Dean Martin Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89118
Western Water Magazine

The Colorado River: Living with Risk, Avoiding Curtailment
Fall 2017

This issue of Western Water discusses the challenges facing the Colorado River Basin resulting from persistent drought, climate change and an overallocated river, and how water managers and others are trying to face the future. 

Tour Nick Gray

Lower Colorado River Tour 2019

This three-day, two-night tour explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour. 

Best Western McCarran Inn
4970 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Maps & Posters

Carson River Basin Map
Published 2006

A companion to the Truckee River Basin Map poster, this 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, explores the Carson River, and its link to the Truckee River. The map includes Lahontan Dam and Reservoir, the Carson Sink, and the farming areas in the basin. Map text discusses the region’s hydrology and geography, the Newlands Project, land and water use within the basin and wetlands. Development of the map was funded by a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region, Lahontan Basin Area Office.

Maps & Posters

Truckee River Basin Map
Published 2005

This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, displays the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas and Indian reservations within the Truckee River Basin, including the Newlands Project, Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Map text explains the issues surrounding the use of the Truckee-Carson rivers, Lake Tahoe water quality improvement efforts, fishery restoration and the effort to reach compromise solutions to many of these issues. 

Maps & Posters

Nevada Water Map
Published 2004

This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, illustrates the water resources available for Nevada cities, agriculture and the environment. It features natural and manmade water resources throughout the state, including the Truckee and Carson rivers, Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake and the course of the Colorado River that forms the state’s eastern boundary.

Maps & Posters

Colorado River Basin Map
Redesigned in 2017

Redesigned in 2017, this beautiful map depicts the seven Western states that share the Colorado River with Mexico. The Colorado River supplies water to nearly 40 million people in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Mexico. Text on this beautiful, 24×36-inch map, which is suitable for framing, explains the river’s apportionment, history and the need to adapt its management for urban growth and expected climate change impacts.

Publication

Layperson’s Guide to Nevada Water
Published 2006

The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Nevada Water provides an overview of the history of water development and use in Nevada. It includes sections on Nevada’s water rights laws, the history of the Truckee and Carson rivers, water supplies for the Las Vegas area, groundwater, water quality, environmental issues and today’s water supply challenges.

Western Water Magazine

An Era of New Partnerships on the Colorado River
November/December 2013

This printed issue of Western Water examines how the various stakeholders have begun working together to meet the planning challenges for the Colorado River Basin, including agreements with Mexico, increased use of conservation and water marketing, and the goal of accomplishing binational environmental restoration and water-sharing programs.

Western Water Magazine

Remnants of the Past: Management Challenges of Terminal Lakes
January/February 2005

This issue of Western Water examines the challenges facing state, federal and tribal officials and other stakeholders as they work to manage terminal lakes. It includes background information on the formation of these lakes, and overviews of the water quality, habitat and political issues surrounding these distinctive bodies of water. Much of the information in this article originated at the September 2004 StateManagement Issues at Terminal Water Bodies/Closed Basins conference.