Water czar Pat Mulroy wants to know if elected officials on the Southern Nevada Water Authority board are in favor of building a massive rural groundwater project. She wants the board to vote thumbs up or thumbs down on the water pipeline, which, she says, is desperately needed.
Critics say the vote will be a meaningless stunt, since the water board traditionally does whatever Mulroy advises. "It takes the elected officials to step up, and what happens with the water authority is it has just been operating as its own empire," said Launce Rake with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada.
Rake thinks the quick vote on the rural water plan is a sign of desperation on the part of the SNWA spurred by signs the opposition is growing. But opponents have no allusions about how the vote will come out. They think if Mulroy didn't already know she would prevail, she wouldn't put it on the agenda.
County Commissioner Steve Sisolak is one of seven water board members and doesn't know how he will vote. He thinks the water authority has operated too long with no questions asked. "Not many are asked about the water authority -- water district. It's assumed they know what they're doing over there, we should move forward and agree with it and rubber stamp it. I don't think that's good way to conduct policy," he said.
State Assemblyman Joe Hogan would be surprised if opponents are allowed to make a presentation to the board before the vote since, he says, the board rarely hears opinions that are contrary to those of Mulroy and her staff. "I've never seen an agency that is so independent of its suppose supervision as the water authority," he said.
Mulroy told the Las Vegas Review Journal she intends wants to push back against critics who are killing the project with a thousand cuts. She once again raised the specter of Lake Mead drying up completely, cutting off 90-percent of the Las Vegas water supply.
Critics say these are boogeyman tactics that have been used to justify the water grab, not for water security, but to fuel a new round of growth. "It's about making money. It's about making money for the contractors. It's about making money for the water authority. It's about making money for anybody who can cash in on it," said Rake.
Approval by the board will not mean the pipeline will be built. There are still environmental studies, approval, and the inevitable lawsuits that could delay it for years. Also at issue is the cost, which has already tripled and could rise to $10 billion or more.
The water board is unlikely to consider cost when it votes this month. And just when will the public get a direct say? "It will be up to the boards to decide and I think first, community groups will be brought together that is representative of all the factions in the community, and they need to kick the tires on what the options are," said Mulroy.
If and when the public ever gets to vote on the multi-billion dollar pipeline plan, the water authority will have already invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the project. The board vote is expected August 20, 2009.
