March 21, 2007
Editorial

Water Board’s Divided Loyalty

Technically, the Lincoln County Water District works for the Lincoln County Commission.

Ostensibly, the county commission works for the people of Lincoln County.

However, judging from recent actions by the LCWD, it appears they are also working for Vidler Water Company, as well as other private entities.

In recent applications to Nevada’s State Engineer, the decision maker on water allocations in the state, the Lincoln County Water District applied for 5,000 acre feet of water in the Kane Springs Valley.

The State Engineer only authorized 1,000.

However, it appears that the applications were actually for water shares that have already been sold by LCWD to Vidler Water.

If that’s the case, it brings up the question whether the LCWD even has the authority to request action on the water shares, since the county no longer owns them.

During Monday’s meeting, board members admitted that Vidler has the water earmarked for the Coyote Springs development.

Another water deal in the southern half of the county revolves around a complicated agreement involving water from the Clover Valley, near Caliente, which has been promised to the Poquot Water Company.

That deal, which involves 2,100 acre feet of water, has apparently been promised to the proposed coal-fired power plant slated for the area near the Lincoln County Land Act properties, and developers in the Lincoln County Land Act area now known as Toquop Township.

While water is critical for Toquop and Coyote Springs, it is unclear how it’s in the best interest of the citizens for the county to acquire water shares and get the necessary approvals from the state, then sell those shares off to private water companies.

The more prudent move would be for the county to retain ownership of that water, because it would allow the county to retain control, and a recurring source of revenue.

The money derived from those sales sounds good, but the truth is that this county’s future will depend on water more than cash.

We can always find new ways to raise revenues, but there is a finite and limited supply of water.

Another interesting question is why the Lincoln County Water District is going to court to challenge the State Engineer’s ruling which limits the Kane Springs Valley applications to 1,000 acre feet.

From a logic standpoint, it doesn’t seem that the best way to get a reasonable decision from the state engineer in the future is to challenge his decisions now.

From a legal and financial standpoint, is a protracted legal challenge the best use of the district’s money? Especially the idea of using county money to fight a battle for water that’s already been sold to a private company.

The final question is, why did the Lincoln County Water District’s attorney file the appeal without a vote of the Water District board, which is comprised of all five County Commissioners?

It’s understandable that there was a 30-day limit on filing an appeal, and the clock was ticking.

However, if it was that important, a special meeting of the board should have been called.

Important decisions like filing court actions should be the sole province of our elected officials, not appointed employees.

The county commissioners deliberated for nearly a half hour two weeks ago over whether to file motions in small claims court for unpaid trash bills that amounted to less than $1,000.

An appeal on millions of dollars worth of water rights should have received the same level of debate.

The most important reality is that citizens need to be more involved, and more vigilant, about the way the water district is handling our most precious resource.

While the meetings are tedious, and the issues discussed are usually complicated and confusing, citizens owe it to themselves and future generations to make sure that the decisions being made are in the best interest of the residents, and not just multi-million dollar companies.