Letters to the editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

New Pahrump water order favors big builders, affluent

Nevada State Water Engineer Jason King’s recent Order #1293, “Prohibiting the Drilling of New Domestic Wells in the Pahrump Artesian Basin (10-162), Nye County, Nevada” is an outrage!

I am deeply concerned about the Pahrump basin’s groundwater resources and understand the urgent need to balance the water budget, but this order will place undue hardship on small landowners, while doing nothing to decrease water use in the basin.

Pahrump’s water woes started decades ago when groundwater was over-allocated far beyond the actual availability. Then subdivisions were created without forfeiture of water rights through the “parceling” loophole. Many ordinary citizens invested hard-earned money in these Pahrump lots.

We have paid our taxes through the years, saving up, and dreaming of building retirement homes. Nevada state law assures us that domestic wells are exempt from the water-right permitting process when the pumpage does not exceed a daily maximum of 1,800 gallons (NRS 534.180).

Now we single lot owners are told we must buy two acre-feet of water rights and retire them before drilling a domestic well. I understand that the over-allocated “paper” water rights must be retired, but they should be forfeited by the current holders. How is it that these excess water rights have not already been curtailed for lack of beneficial use?

These water rights were granted to many of the holders’ families free of charge. Now lot owners are expected to buy water from them?! Rumor has it the price has already been increased at least ten-fold! It is against Nevada state law to hold water rights for the purpose of speculation.

This new ruling seems designed to make a few large water rights holders very rich. While smaller contractors will be run out of business, large developers will continue to build unrestrained. A few will monopolize the water and housing market.

This ruling severely devalues the lots of small investors. Many will likely abandon their lots and stop paying taxes, rather than continue to pay into an uncertain future. It’s a slap in the face to see such draconian action taken against the average acre-lot owner while the affluent can still build large artificial lakes! Landowners were blindsided by this order. I can’t help but suspect deals were made behind closed doors before it suddenly came to light.

The waters of the State of Nevada belong to the people of Nevada. Water rights owners do not own the water, just the right to use it. Those rights have been abused, and the wrong people are being forced to pay for it.

Water is life, and all we want it to live simply on our lots. Order #1293 is unfair, illegal, and must be rescinded. The group “Pahrump Fair Water” (pahrumpfairwater.com) has filed an appeal. If the spirit and letter of Nevada law are upheld, the citizens will prevail.

Heather Gang

Toxic materials released in air worth investigating

Pahrump has enjoyed over three days of blue skies without “contrail” spray from jet aircraft. Before that, we experienced weeks of daily spraying of toxic “contrails” that persist, spread, and block the sky and sunlight.

So where are all the plane contrails? Did the Las Vegas airport shut down over the weekend? Of course not. It’s just that our area was not on the toxic geoengineering cool-down spray schedule.

Don’t worry, the planes and their obscuring spray activity will be back. Enjoy the semblance of blue skies while you can. Each of us breathes what is ejected into the atmosphere, and it’s not good. Research will reveal this decades-long program as dangerous to human health and welfare.

Last August, a pilot called into a Las Vegas radio talk show to express his concerns for his spraying over 40,000 tons of material over the Vegas area. He was cut off by a “hard commercial break” and the host had to let him go just as he was explaining the dangers.

Folks, this is real and impacts each and every one of us. Modern jet hydro-turbine engines no longer produce contrails except in rare conditions.

Those “contrails” you see fouling our Pahrump skies and skies worldwide, are worthy of your investigation.

Unless you enjoy the diseases that accompany breathing in aluminum, barium, strontium and biological constructs.

Patty Vinikow

Media Research Analyst