Water Grab

US News on Nevada Water Grab

May 30, 2007

By now few in the West are unfamiliar with Las Vegas' water grab plans. The efforts to defoliate the rest of Nevada in favor of unrestricted growth are the subject of an article in this week's US News and World Report. Nearly twice as much water is what Las Vegas water grabber Pat Mulroy tells the magazine when she is not explaining why long showers aren't wasteful. There is a number to think about. Twice as many people in the Las Vegas metro area. Take your lot and divide it in half. Double the number of cars on the road.

The Las Vegas marketing slogan says that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. If Mulroy continues unchecked it will literally be true as nobody will be able to go anywhere else. Residents won't have to worry about taking out their sod to support the over-the-top evaporation from Lake Las Vegas, rather they will just move into their cars and live on the roads. And of course the Governor has a plan for the roads too. Between Mulroy's pipe dreams about what population Las Vegas can support and the Governor's road-funding-without-taxation fantasy Vegas and the rest of Nevada have a long road ahead.

Unintended consequences

April 17, 2007

Many things we do have unintended consequences. Consider for example the research suggesting mobile phones may be killing off bee colonies. The consequences of this are particularly dire on our food crops. In spite of a great apricot blossom this year we appear to have few fruit set on the trees. What we didn't have to go with the blossoms were the bees to pollinate them.

Southern Nevada Water Authority's attempt to grab water from rural Nevada and surrounding states is rife with such unintended consequences. Consider the global food supply chain that feeds Las Vegas. With the destruction of the agricultural areas of the state Las Vegas will be totally dependent on this global chain instead of having the local resources to support the community in times of crisis. We have recently seen the effects of this global supply chain when a Las Vegas company sold contaminated wheat germ to pet food manufacturers and poisoned pets across the continent. With a food supply this fragile even small disruptions have huge consequences.

House of cards

April 16, 2007

Today's news includes the story that our country's experienced military leaders fear the effects of global warming may be a threat to homeland security and our security interests around the globe. Closer to home Southern Nevadans are being asked to support a plan that could crush their security. The Southern Nevada Water Authority's risky plan for exploiting the resources of rural Nevada, if allowed, will upset the delicate balance of life in the desert.

Unfortunately there are operatives, formerly known as newspapers in league with the Water Authority. Instead of educating Nevadans and those who might visit here about the devastating effect such a plan would have on the area these papers run off the wall editorials when a commissioner is not afraid to stand up for what is reasonable. It is difficult to decide where to start when addressing the problems with SNWA's suspicious scheme. To begin with SNWA and its partners routinely state a cost figure of $2 billion. Independent experts place the cost at between $12 billion and $20 billion. Even at the high end these estimates don't address that the deep water aquifers may have dissolved salts and require desalination.

Vidler Water Company

This information was taken from http://www.picoholdings.com/WaterRightsStorage.html - the Pico Holdings page about their Vidler Water Company holding. As of July 2004 the page appears not to have been updated in some time and is archived here against it's accidental removal.

 

Vidler Water Company, Inc.

Vidler Water Company, Inc. ("Vidler") is the leading private
company in the water resource development business in the southwestern United
States. PICO identified water resource development in the Southwest as an
attractive business opportunity due to the continued growth in demand for water
resulting from population growth, economic development, environmental
requirements, and the claims of Native Americans. Vidler is not a water utility,
and does not intend to enter into regulated utility activities. We develop new
sources of water for municipal and industrial use, and necessary storage
infrastructure to facilitate the efficient allocation of available water
supplies.

Opportunities for Vidler result from inefficient allocation
of available water between agricultural users and municipal or industrial users,
or the lack of available known water supply for a particular area:

Submitted by Joshua Brauer on July 17, 2004 - 22:48

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