State engineer rules in water rights challenge

Turnipseed's ruling on Wednesday capped a three-day hearing in Carson City and went against a challenge filed by Churchill County and Fallon city officials, who sought to have the water rights diverted to them because they have not been used.

The ruling means developers and Sierra Pacific Power Co. retain 1,425 acre-feet of river water rights for new homes, schools and businesses.

Before new homes or businesses are built, developers must show they have the necessary water rights to serve them.

But Turnipseed canceled another 165 acre-feet of water rights held by Sierra Pacific and Barker Homes that were issued after 1913.

Water rights issued before that time can only be canceled if a challenger proves the owner intended to abandon them. Those issued afterwards fall under a state law that says water rights can be canceled if an owner doesn't put them to beneficial use for five years.

Churchill County and Fallon officials must now decide whether to appeal in federal court, a process that could take years to resolve.

In the meantime, Turnipseed said he will continue to honor builders' water rights when signing off on development maps, even if Fallon and Churchill appeal.

Steven King, a lawyer for the city of Fallon, said his clients filed the challenge to protect their water supply. The entities downstream from Reno and Sparks contend that reactivating the water rights for the upstream users would deprive the Lahontan Valley of water rights that farmers have come to depend on for water crops and recharging the aquifer.

Churchill County has been fighting attempts by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and federal government to cancel the county's water rights because they haven't been used.

The tribe wants the Truckee River water to benefit Pyramid Lake.

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