CARSON CITY — The State Engineer has issued an order that requires a 50-percent mandatory reduction of groundwater that may be pumped for the 2015 irrigation season in the Smith Valley Basin (107) and Mason Valley Basin (108) hydrographic basins under supplemental irrigation water rights.
The objectives of the order are to protect existing water rights and wells, protect the physical integrity of the aquifer and to protect the long-term water supply.
Nevada is entering what is anticipated to be a fourth year of drought conditions. In the last several years, the Smith and Mason Valleys have seen unprecedented groundwater pumping and water level declines.
There have also been reports of well failures, and there remains a possibility of basin-wide well failures of shallow wells if no action is taken, according to a statement issued by the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
As a result of these conditions, the State Engineer held a workshop on January 22, 2015 in Smith and in Yerington to explain the reasoning for his decision to issue the order and to provide as much advance warning as possible.
The presentation is available at the Nevada Division of Water Resources website at www.water.nv.gov in the Recent News section. Lists of affected water rights are also available on this webpage.
Division of Water Resources staff will begin tagging each irrigation well with a notice of the quantity of water that may be pumped from that well.
SOURCE: DCNR.
