June 4, 2014

Mr. Hafen

laid out some ground rules that would contribute to a meaningful and productive workshop. The public will be limited to 3 minutes per speaker and individuals can come back again after everyone else has had a chance to speak. Many members of the public spoke regarding their ideas or criticized the ideas put forward by others. Public suggestions for inclusion in a plan included: - Require additional water rights for new construction, both residential and commercial, and retire those additional rights to the basin even within a utility tariff area - Establish a fund for the purchase of water rights through the NCWD - Meter new domestic wells - Capture water before it is allowed to flow out of the basin - Build fan wells and pipe water to the utility companies where they can distribute throughout the community - Use effluent to help stabilize the water table in the basin - Trade basin water rights for fan water rights - Encourage future development in areas with a utility district as less water is dedicated per household - Promote smart water usage through education and conservation programs - Change Nevada Law to remove the “use it or lose it” provision - Request that the State Engineer call for proof of beneficial use on all water permits and those that cannot be proven should be relinquished back to the basin - Increase water supply or decrease usage - Restrictions or guidelines regarding future growth or development as it applies to water usage, availability and quality - The plan should incorporate different levels of crisis for management of water to allow flexibility during times of plentiful moisture or a severe drought - Increase lot size and decrease population - Bring in water from Manse Spring - Moratorium on drilling new wells in the basin right now 3 Groundwater Advisory Committee June 4, 2014 - Importation of water - Desalination plants - Volunteer relinquishment of a portion of the water allotment from a domestic well to be incentivized with a cash payback from the County - Allow smaller lots within the UICN tariff area to combine to become a larger lot of 1 acre or more, thereby becoming eligible to drill a domestic well Kelvin Hickenbottom, Deputy State Engineer, addressed some misconceptions about domestic wells. He noted that domestic wells do not entitle one to ownership of water rights. Each well drilling application is thoroughly investigated to evaluate its potential impact. The date of the drilling of a domestic well sets it priority date. This can also be established by the date of the water right that was relinquished for that well. The State Engineer does have the power to limit the amount of water drawn from a domestic well and the depth even without designation as a critical management area. He can regulate all water use within the State. All extensions of time for water rights are evaluated on a monthly basis in the Pahrump Valley. Filing of extensions is allowable by state law and water cannot be confiscated if the law is followed. The law must be equitable to all parties not just domestic well owners.

Mr. Hickenbottom

briefly discussed the recent decision by the DWR to increase the perennial yield of Basin 162 largely based upon the USGS Harrill report from 1986.There are some statutory changes coming soon but they will be very minor. These primarily deal with Critical Management Area designation and the lesser classification of Area of Active Management. He noted that the DWR gathers information from meters or totalizers on all permitted wells in order to conduct its annual basin inventory. During public comment Mr. Hickenbottom explained that some lots in subdivisions have a low priority date for water since that water probably originated from older agricultural water rights. He noted that a well may be permitted in a utility tariff area if the expense of connecting to the utility is extremely high. Only the DWR can permit a well, not a utility company. The DWR protects domestic wells by evaluating each change of use application for potential nearby impacts. There was some discussion about water requirements for the original Preferred Equities properties. Mr. Hickenbottom agreed that this was still a massive quandary. Some of these records may not even exist anymore or be very difficult to find due to poor recording keeping in the past. This information is accessible for public viewing in the DWR archives. It was noted that all water use requires a permit except for that used in a domestic well. Water right owners have 5 years in which to prove beneficial use or file for an extension of time. Conceptualized reports regarding the state of the aquifer have been compiled over the years by various agencies. Mr. Hickenbottom noted that there is probably more than one aquitard in Basin 162, but the DWR does not regulate how deep a well should be drilled. Priority dates were clarified again for the benefit of the public. Water is not prioritized by use. Some water rights are not being pumped right now but are being held through extensions to serve future obligations for which the water has already been relinquished to the State. It was again clarified that the priority date of a water right remains even if there is a change in use. Water flowing into California was also addressed. One member of the public questioned whether water rights that were temporarily issued to support World War II efforts were ever returned back to the State. Upon questioning, Mr. Hickenbottom related that both commercial and domestic well applications are evaluated the same, and an application for a well will be denied if the 4 Groundwater Advisory Committee June 4, 2014 home or business can be connected to a utility provider at a reasonable cost. Tim Hafen related that there were no water rights given for development during World War II. After a short break to allow time for the public to ask questions of staff, the meeting reconvened. Oz Wichman commented that “do nothing” regarding regulation of domestic wells in this basin could be a valid option but without actual meter readings this is difficult to defend. But, either way (with or without hard data); at some point in the future the State will be making decisions regarding domestic wells. These decisions will be based upon estimates if we do not provide solid data. This is why it is imperative that a volunteer well metering program be established to collect accurate information. Wendy Barnett noted that there is a fear in the community that households may be taxed upon their water usage if meters are installed. Bob Coache related that Las Vegas has a groundwater plan where wells are taxed based upon usage, but these fees are used to pay for programs related to water conservation.