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Las Vjgas,Nevada REVIEW - JOURNAL May 6, 1947 Chamber Di rectors Talk W ater Plans W ill Contact Union Pacific with Idea Of Purchasing Las Vegas Land, W ater Company j Preliminary steps toward the establishment of a water! district for the city of Las Vegas which would increase the supply of domestic water, were taken last evening by the, board of directors of the chamber of commerce, v - H i H A f t e r ' engiiteers representing Garrett Bromfield and company, of Denver, hachexplained the set­up as proposal under a prelim­inary surveyfpt was voted to have the cHamiber committee con­tact the Union Pacific railroad company to determine whether that organization would be will­ing to negotiate for the sale of the Las Vegas Land and Water company distribution system to the district. g A. C. Grant,' chairman of th e public service committee of the chamber, was delegated to con­tact the rail officials and report back to the board of directors within a week aS to the com-' pany’s attitude. If the railroad company is favorable to such ne­gotiations, then further steps will; be taken to accomplish the for­mation §f a water district, under the newjstatute passed by the re­cent legislature, and start nego­tiations for the local water sys­tem, as well as that now in use, at the Basic Magnesium project. In presenting th e engineers’ report to the chamber directors Grant said the engineers who made the survey had struck at the root of Las Vegas’ trouble in •respect to water and had offered a solution with regard to domes­tic water. He said, however, that the problem of industrial water had not been solved in the sur­vey, but a supplementary probe probably could be made to bring about this development. He said also that the prelimi­nary survey did ,not bring into play the development of suf­ficient water for agricultural use in the valley and that the further study might bring a solution to the irrigation of some 1,200 acres of land in “our front yard coun- | try.” Grant said that before any-| thing is done along the liije of the formation of the district, the com­mittee should know the attitude of the railroad company regard-ing'the feeling on release of the water system to the district. He said 75 per cent of the benefit would accrue to the city of Las Vegas, and therefore a distribu­tion system must be available be­fore the entire plan would be feasible. The plan for the water system to be set up by the water district calls for the construction of a pipe line from the present BMP line, down through the valley into Las Vegas, into the water system here, with branch lines going out the highway strip and to the Las Vegas army air field. Such a project would insure domestic w a t e r , in plentiful quantities, for a community of more than 40,000 persons and, in ?addition, would protect the artes­ian flow of wells In the valley by relieving the withdrawals to a point where the replenishment from year "to year would about equal the withdrawals. « The engineers presented an elaborate plan to the chamber and, as soon as the attitude of the Union Pacific is determined on the city water system, the plan will be discussed further and the proper steps taken.