Join the Water Conversation

John Cobourn, Area Water Specialist

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. 

In my first blog post, I noted that the Western Governors Association’s (WGA) Drought Forum has urged citizens to join the conversation about drought and water in the West. I plan to contribute to that conversation with blogs on facts and ideas regarding “Water in the Southwest.” Look for this and other materials on www.Livingwithdrought.com and www.unce.unr.edu. 

Some of the numerous topics that we could discuss include watersheds, water supply, ground water, water pollution, floodplain management, water rights, irrigation water, water transfers, etc. While some states are asking people to cut home water use, the dialogue about water needs to be much more comprehensive. Our future depends on it. Water supply shapes how we live and work in our landscapes--see the "before" and "after" photos of the Rye Patch Reservoir, below.  This is a major stock of water from the lower Humboldt River and has not delivered water to irrigators in several years.  

The Conversation needs to be more pervasive than a mere blog. The Western Governors' Association (WGA) says we need “open dialogue and information sharing.” See http://westgov.org/images/2015_Drought_Forum_Report_for_website.pdf for the final report from this year long effort led by Nevada's Governor Brian Sandoval.  People in communities in the southwest should convene forums, write articles, create ballot initiatives and engage public and elected officials in the conversation. In this blog, I will try to add relevant information and to pose questions for communities to ponder.

When people talk about water, they often cite Mark Twain, who quipped that “Whiskey’s for drinking; water’s for fighting over.” In the arid southwest, people sometimes disagree about uses and management of water. Some people have strong opinions and may occasionally become emotional in responding to the statements of others. This is especially true when water shortages have profound effects on rural areas, where agriculture, including cattle ranching, is a major industry and way of life. 

To communicate about something as fundamental and important to all as water, we need to govern our emotions.  We need to strive for a meaningful conversation. That means communicating respectfully and listening closely. We should be hard on problems but easy on people. Discuss your interests and those of others rather than simply sticking to a rigid “position.” In a win-win solution, everybody gets their most important interests met.

Rye Patch Reservoir on the Humboldt River

in 2009, when water stored behind Rye Patch Dam

flowed through the regional network of

irrigation canals.

In short, this blog offers facts, ideas, reports and questions about water issues in the southwest. It can be seen as part of a larger regional conversation. I will rarely evaluate specific products. You do not need to respond to these blog posts. If you do, please be courteous and thoughtful. That way, your ideas will contribute to our understanding and ability to deal with important water issues.

Same view of Rye Patch Reservoir in 2013. 

Water levels in the reservoir were below the spillway,

meaning that farmers downstream received no irrigation water.

Water in Nevada in Changing Times

Contributed by John Cobourn, State Water Specialist, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (check www.Livingwithdrought.com for information about strategies for coping with drought and www.unce.unr.edu for information about Nevada Cooperative Extension). 

Drought monitor from Sept. 22, 2015 shows slightly more than half of
Nevada remains in Extreme to Exceptional Drought

 

The Western Governors Association Drought Forum Report was released on June 23, 2015 (http://www.westgov.org/drought-forum). Under the leadership of Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, the Forum proposed strategies for responding to droughts in the western United States. The Governors recommend open dialog and information sharing about water and how to be resilient to droughts.

Now is the time, if there ever was a time, for a sustained conversation about water in Nevada and the Southwestern United States. The climate of the Southwest is generally dry, with recurring droughts and floods. It is also a region of continuing rapid population growth. In 2015, after the fourth consecutive year of severe drought in Nevada and California, citizens want to know how our society and economy will be able to withstand another year (or years) of drought.

One good way to understand water issues is to place them in the context of watershed management. Nevada’s watersheds capture precipitation in the form of rain or snow, store it in soils, lakes and underground aquifers, then transmit it downstream to agricultural communities and to cities. The watersheds that support our water supply must be respected and protected from abuse. We rely on healthy, well-managed watersheds for our way of life. More about this in upcoming blogs.

In this blog, I intend to contribute factual information and analysis to “The Conversation” about water in the Southwest. As a Hydrologist with twenty seven years of experience in watershed management, I have worked on floodplain management, drought planning for farmers, and water quality best management practices for residential and small business properties. These issues are not well-understood by the general public, but they should be.

I invite readers to join The Conversation. Here is a passage from the Western Governors’ Drought Forum Report: “Citizen awareness is critical to the success of any drought or conservation measure,” said Cassandra Joseph, Senior Deputy Attorney General for Government and Natural Resources in Nevada. “It is difficult to achieve, but it is absolutely imperative that the general public understands the importance of water resource management.”