Legal Decision Postpones Water Grab

The Protect Snake Valley website and blog were started due to the threats of Southern Nevada coming into Snake Valley to dewater it. The loss of massive amounts of groundwater in the valley would have far reaching consequences, drying up springs and streams, killing off vegetation that had roots reaching down to that water, potentially creating huge dust storms due to unstable soil.

Many people have been fighting to help preserve the wild, unique character of Snake Valley, from the valley bottoms to the mountain tops. This week a legal victory has given our side something to cheer about, and hopefully will help us as we continue to fight. The Nevada Supreme Court said that people who wanted to protest the Spring Valley water applications by Southern Nevada Water Authority were not given the chance that they should have been. The applications will have to be refiled or anyone who wants to protest them will have to be given that opportunity. This basically means that the State Engineer's ruling on Spring Valley (which is just over the hill from Snake Valley), will have to be looked at again in great detail and possibly a new hearing held. The results of this hearing could be very different from the first one.

The issue is far from over, though. Southern Nevada Water Authority is still trying to get water from rural Nevada. They refiled applications yesterday and still plan to pump and pipe water hundreds of miles to the seemingly unquenchable thirst that exists in southern part of the state.

Nevertheless, it is good to see that our efforts are producing results and even more people are questioning the sustainability of this nefarious pipeline scheme. If you'd like to read more, you can find the latest news articles linked on the Great Basin Water Network website.

A couple places to go for more info include: The Salt Lake Tribune and The Las Vegas Sun