Panel wants water engineer to have authority to restrict usage

If curtailments are ordered becreases to locate in Nevada for excause of water shortages, they acerbating the state’s water woes. could be cut off completely under Assemblyman Ira Hansen, existing law. R-Sparks, whose district includes

“The fact of the matter is, the law five rural counties and portions of as it reads today, is if we have to two others, opened the public pericurtailod.inagroundwaterbasin,we do it by priority,” King said, adding “The clear concern is somewhere there is no exception for indoor or in all of this there is a recommenoutdoor use. “Our intent is to do dation to cut use back to a half-acre something for the domestic well usfoot and limit it only to interior ers that’s not in the law right now. home usage,” he said. For homeIf we have to curtail, they don’t lose owners, he said, that would mean indoor water use.” “their landscape dies, their trees

Friday’s hearing drew hundreds die.” of angry well owners who crammed The Legislature’s Subcommittee four overflow rooms in the Legislato Study Water agreed to sponsor ture building to testify and listen to a bill during the 2017 session that the discussion. would protect a well owner’s right

Speaker after speaker during to water for indoor use only, with more than three hours of public exceptions for outdoor watering of comment fumed over the propospets and livestock. als. They blamed casinos, developThe committee also agreed to recers, golf courses, government and businesses being granted tax in- HEARING,