Parts of water plan sent back to water district

After making cuts to the sixth draft of the Basin 162 Groundwater Management Plan, Nye County commissioners turned it over to the Nye County Water District Governing Board for a review.

Nye County Commissioner Dan Schinhofen spearheaded the decision to move forward with the controversial plan, cutting eight of the items out and sending them to the WDGB during the Nye County commissioners' meeting on Wednesday. As part of the motion, commissioners also dissolved the Basin 162 Groundwater Management Plan Advisory Committee that had drafted the plan.

The items that were bounced back to the WDGB included aggressive water education, adoption of a water conservation plan, construction of rapid infiltration basins (RIBs), creation incentives to voluntarily connect to public water systems, investment in existing and future development agreements, filling out charts with data, continuation of a water level measurement program and evaluation of redistribution of production well pumping.

Several other items that fall outside of the purview of the Nye County commissioners a were sent to Nevada State Engineer Jason King.

Among them were a requirement for meters on new domestic wells, limit on new domestic wells to 0.5 an acre foot per year, aquifer storage and recovery, allowing utilities to put back new infrastructure with PUC approval to reach more lots and the conservation credit program for water rights.

"Everybody out there who's been concerned about us doing anything with current wells, we can't. We don't have any authority to do anything with Pahrump wells," Schinhofen said. "The half-acre foot that was suggested, that's something we can't do."

General manager of Nye County Water District Darrell Lacy said the Basin 162 Groundwater Management Plan Advisory Committee had come up with a summary of recommendations to address the overallocation of water rights and the future water demand in Basin 162.

"Many of the items that are being addressed in this (plan) are currently outside of the authority of Nye County's Board of Commissioners, some are outside of the purview of the Division of Water Rights State Engineer's Office and will require additional changes to groundwater law," Lacy said.

The plan was tabled in December after it had been in the works for nearly two years. During the Tuesday meeting, many Pahrump residents spoke against the plan, calling for its elimination.

"We all want a plan that protects us, we don't want a plan that isn't for everybody. And right now, this plan really is not for everybody, and I'm totally against passing any of this plan until it's all right," Pahrump resident Amy Nelson said.

Pahrump activist Kenny Bent called the plan "dangerous" to domestic well owners and said it doesn't address the problem of growth, and the overallocation of the water rights.

"What I'd like to see is the board to go ahead and vote on this motion and vote it down and come back with another motion that eliminates this plan as a dangerous weapon," Bent said.

Prior to the vote, Commissioner Lorinda Wichman, whose husband Oz Wichman works as a contractor for the Nye County Water District Governing Board, made a disclosure stating that her household doesn't benefit from the passage of the plan.

"This board does not direct any of the contracts for the water district," Wichman said. "The board is voting on the plan. My household does not benefit from the passage of this plan and quite frankly, I'm the only commissioner sitting up here who will not benefit from any passage or rejection of the plan either way. So therefore, I will be voting."

Commissioner Butch Borasky was the only one of the Nye County commissioners who voted against the plan.

"I think we should get rid of it, I really do. It's not doing this community that much good," he said.

After the Nye County Water District Governing Board reviews the approved portions of the plan, they will be passed back to Nye County commissioners.

If the plan is approved, it will have to be submitted to the state engineer.

Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com