Nevada bill would keep water rights buybacks going through 2035

A proposal being considered in the Nevada Legislature would allow the state to continue buying back water rights from willing sellers to conserve water and reduce the overuse of groundwater.

Assembly Bill 104 would extend the Nevada Voluntary Water Rights Retirement Program, which launched in 2023 and in two years has retired more than 25,000 acre-feet of groundwater. The buybacks were funded through $15 million from the American Rescue Plan.

The proposal was heard Monday by the Nevada Assembly Committee on Natural Resources. It has jurisdiction over measures affecting natural resources, agriculture and mining policy.

“Establishing a water rights retirement program in statute would be one step forward for our state,” said Assemblymember Natha Anderson, D-Reno, the chairperson of the committee.

The retirement initiative is primarily for groundwater basins where water usage exceeds the available supply.

The initial two years of the program allowed for water users in overpumped basins to sell back their water at $900 per acre-foot. The proposal being considered in the Assembly would run through 2035; the buyback amount hasn’t been established but would be paid for in part out of state funds and grants.

The program allows landowners to relinquish water rights for compensation and directs the state engineer to permanently retire those rights from future allocation, said Allen Biaggi, a lobbyist for the Nevada Mining Association. The water would remain in the ground.

The bill would additionally establish an advisory committee with members representing tribes, mining and recreational interests. The committee will include engineers, members of the agriculture community and regional water authorities.

“There’s a large amount of change coming forth,” Anderson said. “Everybody involved in this discussion understands this is not just one element, but there are numerous elements.”

The committee on Monday also heard Assembly Bill 9, which would place a 10-year cap on temporary conversion of agricultural water rights extended in increments of up to five years. Currently, a water rights user can apply for a temporary conversion for up to three years, with a three-year extension possible.

The “Responsible Water Use Act” includes ways for an entity to maintain their water rights while engaging in responsible practices like improving flow, rejuvenating aquifers and providing water for wildlife. The proposal is being championed by conservationists.

“We hope AB 9 is an olive branch as we look to other programs in the future for how we implement more conservation,” said Kyle Roerink, the executive director of Great Basin Water Network.

To establish a water right, an entity — like a mining company — applies with the Nevada Division of Water Resources for a permit. The process includes the entity showing a beneficial use of how it will use water.

For instance, a farmer’s beneficial use could be growing hay, and for a mining company it might be extracting gold.

The bill mandates that water rights users can’t use the program to get more time to put water to use, Roerink said.

“We have a number of water rights users in basins where there is conflict and where there is drawdown in the water table and where streams and creeks and rivers aren’t rushing like they used to,” Roerink said.

No votes were taken on the proposals.