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.”