Nye reduces future water use by issuing pot permits

Nye County officials hope to have found a way to balance its need for growth, an expanded tax base and revenue generation with its need to conserve water consumption — marijuana grow facilities.

The desert community has been challenged in recent months to address drought conditions coupled with over-allocated water rights and a declining aquifer to satisfy the state water engineer’s own concerns about the condition of Pahrump Basin 162.

Nye County Water District spokesman and Planning Director Darrell Lacy said the county has formulated a plan that encourages business growth by forcing a relinquishment of water rights. For every one-acre foot of water used in a business, that business must relinquish three-acre feet of water. The 3-for-1 mandate helps to rid the records of over-allocated rights, which if used, puts the basin at risk of a more rapid decline from overpumping.

Lacy said the county advocates smart growth.

“We are letting growth pay for conservation, rather than the community,” Lacy said.

The Pahrump Basin is not currently overpumped, he said, and to help ensure the new marijuana facilities do not take more than their fair share of water, they are required to file a water-use plan prior to county approval of a grow operation.

Applicants must reveal the facilities’ water origin — spring, well or private utility, and how much water they plan to use in the operation. Water quality testing is also required.

Through special permitting, Nye County has approved 19 medical marijuana facilities in the past year — one dispensary, six production facilities and 12 cultivation or grow operations.

The issuance of permits, or licenses, came with hefty price tags that have helped to fill the dwindling county coffers. The dispensary was required to pay an initial $15,000 licensing fee and a $7,500 annual renewal fee. The cultivators and producers paid an upfront $5,000 licensing fee and are required to pay a $2,500 annual renewal fee. It is uncertain how much revenue will be generated through sales tax, once sales begin in Nye County.

The marijuana will be grown indoors as required by various regulations. Indoor, or greenhouse, cultivation is more efficient, Lacy said, requiring 80-to-90 percent less water than a traditional agricultural crop grown outdoors. He attributes much of the water savings to a loss of evaporation, less waste and a more efficient and controlled environment.

Water District Chairman Bill McLaughlin favors marijuana growth over traditional outdoor agricultural crops for conservation and efficiency purposes. “Instead of using five-acre feet of water to water one acre of alfalfa, we have a crop that can use one-acre foot of water in three crop rotations,” he said. He does not discourage growing traditional crops. However, he said, watering should be done with conservation in mind by the use of sprinklers rather than flood irrigation. “Do it smart. Don’t waste water,” he said.

Nevada voters will decide whether to end marijuana prohibition and regulate recreational marijuana in a similar manner to alcohol in November 2016.