Nevada is the driest state in the nation, with an average annual rainfall of less than ten inches per year. Despite that fact, our state has some outstanding lakes and rivers, including Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake, Lake Mead, the Truckee River system and the Humboldt River system. With so little water, the demands are significant, and water conservation is key. Many of our public water purveyors like the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Truckee Meadows Water Authority have outstanding water conservation programs, but there is always more we can do. Proposals to drain rural areas of the state for increased water for municipal and industrial use fail to take into account the impact that this would have on wildlife populations and plant communities. Water policy in our state needs to maximize conservation opportunities so that we don’t end up with some of the problems that we have seen in other western states.
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