Building Water Facilities to Sustain Community Viability in Severe Drought Conditions

Over 90 percent of Southern Nevada's (Clark County and Greater Las Vegas) water supply comes from Lake Mead on the Colorado River. The Colorado River system has experienced the worst drought in its recorded history. The drought is expected to continue and is significantly impacting water storage in Lake Mead. SNWA and its member agencies have adopted a Drought Plan to weather the severe drought. In addition to this plan, SNWA is exploring the development of other resources and protection of exiting resources to reduce dependence on the drought-stricken Colorado River. One of the resources under study is the groundwater basins in the valleys located in rural counties located to the north and north-east of Clark County. These valleys contain rich groundwater basins and hold sustainable, naturally replenished water source. The development of groundwater resources in northern Clark, Lincoln and White Pine counties, could potentially yield hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water for Greater Las Vegas Valley and thereby provide additional stability and capacity to the valley's water supply.