More federal resources needed to fight drought in the West

By Edgar Flores

Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 | 2 a.m.

The annual Colorado College Conservation in the West Poll results released in January, surveying attitudes of voters in seven Western states on conservation, environment and energy issues, shows just how much Westerners, most particularly Western Hispanics, are concerned about the ongoing drought.

A significant majority of Hispanics polled considered water issues — low levels of water in rivers; drought; and pollution of rivers, lakes and streams — to be nearly as serious as unemployment. In addition, Nevadans of all stripes were far more concerned about drought and low levels of water in rivers than any of their Western neighbors, which is understandable since, with only 9 inches of average precipitation annually, we are the driest state in the nation.

Fortunately, Nevadans’ concerns have been recognized by Gov. Brian Sandoval, as we continue to receive national recognition for our exemplary water conservation in a desert climate. For example, the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s Cash for Grass program is a wildly successful program and has replaced more than 173 million square-feet of turf grass (more than 3,000 football fields) with landscaping that’s a better fit for Nevada’s climate.

But emerging from the Nevada Drought Forum (and from the Western Governors’ Association Drought Forum launched by Sandoval when he was WGA president), are many other water conservation proposals not yet a reality, but equally worthy of implementation. The impressive list of recommendations includes water-saving technologies by farmers and ranchers, more water-efficient technologies for thermoelectric power facilities, and increasing state staffing to increase water metering and technical assistance for water utilities.

These steps will require financial backing, and to make that happen we are going to need additional help from federally funded programs.

As a member of the Nuestro Rio Regional Water Caucus, made up of bipartisan Hispanic officials elected locally from across the Southwest who support efforts to conserve water in the Colorado River, we have reached out to the Obama administration asking that it prioritize Nevada with more funding for proven effective drought programs such as WaterSMART. Currently, only 1 in 5 WaterSMART proposals are funded, and the program that has contributed money to Cash for Grass is deserving of greater support to respond to the pressing drought conditions in Nevada and other Western states.

I urge Sandoval to join me and Nuestro Rio in calling on the Obama administration for more water conservation and drought resiliency funding.

Accomplishing this would give us an important resource to prevent our rivers and waterways from drying up, help fulfill the governor’s goal of preparing Nevada for any possible future water shortages, and ensure Nevada’s position as a leader in meeting the persistent drought challenges we and others in the West continue to face.

Edgar Flores is Nevada assemblyman for District 28 in North Las Vegas and a member of Nuestro Rio’s Regional Water Caucus.