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A S OUR STATE ENGINEER SEES IT STATE OE NEVADA . Office of the State Engineer Carson City, Nevada May 6, 1946 . A. C. Grant, Chairman Industrial Development Committee Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, Las Vegas, Nevada, y' Dear Mr. Grant: . A '?-. ' Due to'.the rapid development of industry within the Las Vegas) valley, a crisis is.rapidly approaching relative to the supply.of un­derground water from which source water is furnished to the city of Las Vegas and surrounding areas. To be more specific, the_ an­nual amount of water now being taken from, the underground sup­ply is nearly- equal to the annual- recharge. water were taken from the underground Source in* an amount equal to the permitted rights now existing, the draft would exceed the recharge. For the, past two years this office, in cooperation with the U. jg| Geological Survey, has been carrying on an extensive study on the underground waters in that area and we believe .that the study will be. completed by this fall. However, we are able at this time to estimate with reasonable accuracy the normal recharge, and the condition is alarming. We feel that at the moment, the major limiting factor to the) growth and prosperity of that area is the water-supply. If the growth depends upon the water from the underground supply, then the Las Vegas valley is nearing'its full development. Section 10 of the 1939 law relating to underground water (Chap/ 178 Stats. 1939). provides that when the state, engineer'determines 1 that the waters from .an underground source are fully appropriated, then no further permits shall be issued. Therefore, unless some, positive action is- taken by the people, there to supplement the un­derground waters with waters from another, source, it. will soon become mandatory for the state engineer to curtail the issuance of further permits. We realize that such action on .pur part will have most’ disas­trous effects on the'welfare of the Las Vegas valley, as naturally no new industries, hotels or other large users of water would con­sider entering an area where there is an inadequate supply of water. ' ". , V , , ... . The matter of faking such a decisive- step is approached with great reluctance on our part, and only in order to save and protect present water rights and property. We have great faith in the ability and desire of the people there to rapidly develop and make the most of the great possibilities of the Las Vegas valley, and believe that they will take immediate measures, to secure an additional supply) of water.. ? - We believe if the property owners in Las Vegas valley can be organized into a municipal entity, which might be designated as the Las Vegas Valley Water Improvement District, it. would com stitute a-political body' able to cope with the problem of bringing in supplemental water from Mead Lake) If this is done soon, per­haps the indicated necessity of curtailing further permits to use of groundwater may be delayed. In any event, limiting further draft on the underground supply, when it eventually becomes absolutely* necessary, would' not then result - in retarding the growth-of-that wonderful region.. Steps for -the formation' ’of such a. water Use im­provement district must of necessity be taken immediately. Similar letters are being sent to Mayor Ernest Cfagin and County Commission Chairman Ira Earl. Should a meeting be held between you to discuss this matter, please feel free to call upon Mr. Hugh Shamberger and mySfelf. Sincerely yours, B I H - IK State Engineer. (SIGNED) Alfred. Merritt Smith