Washoe County squeezing water out of Storey, Churchill counties

VIRGINIA CITY - Washoe County officials are buying water rights in Storey and Churchill counties to maintain the river's water quality, but the move is creating environmental and economic havoc in the communities downstream, according to officials there.

The issue comes on the heels of the 1996 Water Quality Agreement among the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, Reno, Sparks, the Department of the Interior, Sierra Pacific Power, the Envirnmental Protection Agency and the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection.

According to the agreement, Reno and Sparks must reserve a portion of their water rights to ensure the quality and flow of the water in the Truckee River.

Instead of using existing water, Reno and Sparks officials are buying water in Storey and Churchill counties to meet their obligation.

"We bought the Ferretto farm (in Storey County) early this year. We are also trying to buy the McCarran Ranch," Sparks City Manager Bill Isaeff said, noting the ranch is primarily in Washoe County.

Ranchers won't sell the water rights alone, and a ranch can't operate without water rights. So the land is resold separately, primarily for residential use. He said the actual acreage in Storey County has been small.

Storey County Commissioner Charles Haynes said small ranches can have extensive water rights, so the acreage isn't the real issue.

The purchase of ranch lands, together with the water rights, is detrimental to the future of Storey County, he said.

"It seriously affects our master plan, which is very clear about preserving agricultural areas," Haynes said, noting Washoe County has been attempting to buy up land for about a year. "We've done a lot to ensure this land remains agricultural. ... This is the only part of Storey with agricultural land, and they're killing our agriculture to feed their casinos."

Churchill County Manager Bjorn Selinder points the finger at growth in the Truckee Meadows. Reno and Sparks have a wastewater treatment facility with maximum capacity of 40 million gallons per day. Treated water from the plant flows into the Truckee River.

Explosive growth in the Truckee Meadows and the increase of wastewater into the river means Washoe County must dedicate a portion of its water rights to ease that impact.

Those water rights are acquired more cheaply in areas outside of the Truckee Meadows - for example, the Swingle Bench area in Churchill County and along the Truckee in Storey County.

Isaeff said about $2 million has been spent for agricultural land with water rights and most has been in Churchill County.

Selinder calls the purchases a tragedy, and a terrible cost in the interest of growth upstream in the Truckee Meadows.

"Under the agreement, upstream interests were to provide $12 million, and the federal government was to match that money to acquire 24,000 acre feet of water rights with no provision made for mitigating problems in this community," he said, noting the water table has dropped to the point that ground cover and large established cottonwood trees are dying.

"Things are dying on the (Swingle) Bench. It's a serious, pathetic situation, all in the name of environmental concern. No one questioned the legality, nor were they concerned about the impact to communities downstream.

"You always hear the argument that the land can be divided and sold for development, but not without water," he said, noting the tax burden caused by the need for increased services when these areas convert from agricultural to residential areas.

"Even though ranches and farms don't generate high taxes, they are very low users of community services."

State Engineer Hugh Ricci said there is nothing illegal about the practice.

"Any water rights can be purchased. Buying and selling (of water rights) is between those parties," Ricci said.

"It's difficult to justify this on the basis of the fact that there is a willing buyer and a willing seller when ranchers are coerced into selling because their neighbors have sold their water rights," Selinder said.

"Cost to maintain irrigation systems is concentrated on a narrowing base of users and persons who pay for maintenance of those facilities. It squeezes ranchers and farmers harder."