Lyon commissioners to consider water rights transfer from Douglas

Moving to a ranch in Lyon County was the easy part for David and Karen Hardy. Getting the water rights has proved to be a major challenge.

The Hardys bought a 90-acre ranch in Dayton in 1999, where they want to raise beef cattle. They tried to buy additional water rights, but found no sellers in Dayton.

"We tried to buy them from everyone in the immediate area and couldn't get them," David Hardy said. "So we purchased water rights from a Douglas County ranch."

Hardy purchased 27 acre-feet of surface water from the Jacobsen Family Trust and has applied to transfer those rights to Dayton, where the water will be diverted at the Cardelli Ditch.

The Jacobsen water is diverted from the Allerman Canal Diversion Dam in Douglas County.

The Lyon County commissioners will hold a public hearing at today's regular meeting on whether to recommend the state engineer approve the transfer. The state engineer will ultimately decide the issue.

In June, the Douglas County commissioners voted to recommend denial of the water rights transfer.

Douglas County Commission Chairman Jim Baushke said at that meeting that transferring water out of the county hurts Douglas residents in the long run. He said the county's policy should be no transfers of water.

• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111. ext. 351.

If you go

WHAT: Lyon County Commission meeting

WHEN: 9 a.m. today

WHERE: 27 S. Main St., in Yerington

CALL: (775) 463-6531