Residents of the driest state in the nation use more
water per person than almost anyone else in the country. But change
may be forced on Nevada by sustained drought and record population
growth. The State Division of Water Planning is drafting a new
policy to guide water-planning decisions for the next 20 years. The
first phase of the plan will identify major water issues; the
second phase will develop management plans for Nevada’s major
drainage basins. “A major goal of the policy is to make water
planning more comprehensive and more accessible to the public and
the legislature – to articulate where we are and where we are
going,” says Naomi Duerr, state water planner. State agencies are
currently defining critical water issues such as mine dewatering,
maintenance of instream flows, water basin transfers, wetlands
management and water quality protection. A draft plan will be
completed by late September. Public workshops are planned
throughout the state in October and November to discuss the draft.
After revision, the policy plan will be presented to the State
Legislature in 1995. Work will then begin on the long process of
developing water resource management plans for individual drainage
basins. For more information or to get on the mailing list, write
Division of Water Planning, 123 W. Nye Lane, Room 180, Carson City,
NV 89710 (702/687-3600).
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Water planning in the desert.
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