Later this year, once we elect the next occupant of the White House, we may finally make some progress upon the primary national security issue facing the United States "global climate change " which the Bush administration has been neglecting.
Here in Nevada, the effects of global climate change to date have been both noticeable and costly, but not yet catastrophic. These effects will, however, increase over time and grow in severity. What is obvious, is that precipitation will diminish, and evaporation will increase. The current condition of Lake Mead and Walker Lake are ominous predictors of what Nevada can expect its future water supply to look like.
In populated areas the groundwater supply is rapidly diminishing, as evidenced by dropping water tables, which is good for the well-drilling industry, but bad for municipal water districts, home owners, farmers, ranchers, etc. We all know that there is no more precious commodity than potable water for the people of Nevada. Not gold, not silver, not tourism. If we are to survive as a population, we all must have sustainable reliable potable water supplies, or be blown away by the winds of global climate change.
Given the impending effects of global climate change, the time has come to plan for Nevada's future water needs, which will be substantial given the past three decade's population growth. In Roman times when emperors did not have to run for re-election it was much easier to finance, design and construct large-scale public works projects than it is today, when politicians are more concerned with short-term political gain than long-term societal goals affecting future generations.
What is needed is an independent public water authority with a nine-member board to take charge of the situation. The governor, Assembly and Senate should each appoint a single member, and three members should be elected at-large from Southern Nevada and three members from Northern Nevada. This will ensure both equal representation and accountability to all of the people of Nevada. Once constituted, the independent public water authority should be relatively immune from political interference and be able to focus upon long-term intergenerational solutions to Nevada's future water needs.
The water authority will have to begin the process of raising capital from (1) federal funds, (2) state funds and (3) private capital markets through the sale of public bonds for design, acquisition of land and right-of-way, and construction of public water works projects. The water authority should be a wholesaler of potable water selling to local municipal and private water districts, charging and collecting user fees for the water that they provide. These fees will be the revenue source from which to pay bond holders. The water authority bonds will range from 30 to 50 years in term depending upon financing requirements. User fees also will pay for ongoing operations, maintenance and administrative costs.
The water authority will need to develop vast uninterruptible supplies of drinking water to feed the growing Nevada population. The closest supply to both Northern and Southern Nevada of raw material from which to process potable water is of course the Pacific Ocean. Desalinization plants on the Pacific coast, cross-country pipelines and pumping stations across California and Nevada can produce a steady supply of potable water that is limited only by the maximum flow rate of the system. A northern leg running from the Pacific along the I-80 corridor to service the northwestern Nevada counties, and a southern leg running from the Pacific coast across California to service Clark County will provide potable water to Nevada's main population centers.
These north and south water authority systems must have at least a 200-year design life with provisions for future technological upgrades as they become available. Luckily, the technology for sea water desalinization has improved dramatically over the past three decades and has now reached a level of efficiency that makes it cost effective to use. There are a number of new desalinization plants around the globe producing potable water.
Moving large quantities of processed water up and over mountain ranges will require substantial quantities of electricity to power the pumps. However, there are recently developed magnetic levitation motors that use substantially less power to perform the same amount of work. As an example of technological innovation these "Mag-Lev" motors use magnetic fields to suspend motor shafts in space creating "frictionless" bearings thereby reducing energy usage. Additionally, the incorporation of wind and solar power generating equipment into the overall design should help mitigate power costs. On down hill slopes, hydroelectric turbines could be used to produce electric power as well.
Hopefully, sufficient quantities of potable water can be delivered to municipal water districts to allow them to stop pumping from local aquifers. This will allow the aquifers to recharge themselves over time from either natural means and/or the collection of storm water that can be injected down recharging wells.
The cost of these water authority desalination plants and pipeline systems will be many billions. It will take more than one decade to raise the capital, acquire plant sites and right-of-way, design the systems and construct them. This will truly be an intergenerational effort on a grand scale and, given that Nevada currently has two U.S. Senators sitting on the Senate Appropriations Committee, now is the time to get the ball rolling while we still have their clout in Washington.
The Romans were smart enough to figure out how to effectively solve the water supply issues of their day. Hopefully, Nevadans will rise to the occasion as well.
- Fred Kessler of Carson City is a general contractor.