In the mid 1980’s, the Las Vegas Valley Water District (District) began evaluating unused groundwater supplies in eastern and central Nevada and storing treated Colorado River water in the Las Vegas Valley groundwater basin for future use. The Southern Nevada Water Authority (Authority), the regional water agency formed in 1991, has developed many interim supplies for the future including banking Colorado River water in Arizona. Las Vegas Valley groundwater was the primary supply for Las Vegas until 1971 and plays a key role in meeting peak demands, about 72,000 acre-feet of water, in 2007. The Colorado River has experienced a severe drought, and while groundwater is not as susceptible to drought as surface water supplies, it is not immune to climate variability.
The net groundwater use in the Las Vegas Valley is below the safe yield of the aquifer, as indicated by aquifer system responses, including water levels rises. Aquifer system behavior is strongly seasonal and shows a climatic influence. Usually the climatic influence is subtle, such as the seasonal timing of water level rises. This influence, however, has been most clearly observed in the central axis of the valley at the base of the primary recharge area (Kyle Canyon), where rises of 10 to 40 feet in a single season (early Water Year, 2006) were observed and production changes were minimal.
Data collection at key locations, ongoing analysis and corrective action is part of the current strategy to manage water levels, track climatic variability and guide future development plans. Las Vegas Valley has an extensive aquifer monitoring network and is an actively managed basin. Goundwater basins in eastern and central Nevada, where the Authority is in the multiple permitting processes for future development, present an opportunity to establish baseline conditions and optimal monitoring networks, especially in biologically sensitive areas.
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