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Las Vegas is pursuing water from White Pine County's Snake Valley. While the proposed water to be pumped out of Snake Valley would supply enough for more than 170,000 homes, local residents and environmentalists have been protesting.

The vast and sparsely populated watershed on the Nevada-Utah border is home to many of the authority’s harshest critics, including ranch families who have lived in the area for generations.

“We know there are a lot of very vocal people who live in Snake Valley. We’ve seen that in the other hearings,” said Kay Brothers, deputy general manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

Even with locals and others protesting, Brothers says that there's no reason to think that they'll be denied completely.

In a letter sent last week to State Engineer Tracy Taylor, the Southern Nevada Water Authority requested a hearing “as soon as possible” on its nine applications for groundwater in Snake Valley.

“Obviously, I think we’ll get some water,” Brothers said. “There’s quite a bit of unappropriated water in Snake Valley, so I can’t imagine we won’t get some water.”

Taylor’s review process will begin July 15 with a half-day administrative hearing in Carson City to establish procedures and document-filing deadlines for a larger hearing later this year or early next year.

The complete article can be found at the Reno-Gazette Journal.