Nevada lawmakers may address legislation that would deem water conservation a beneficial use, effectively upending traditional “use it or lose it” water law. (Photo Credit: Colton Brunson, Water Commissioner, Nevada Division of Water Resources)
Nevada’s limited water resources and wide open public lands will continue to be the source of legal and political battles for state lawmakers next year — whatever the outcome of November’s election.
When state lawmakers meet in Carson City next February, they will be asked to consider several — likely contentious — bills related to groundwater, agriculture, and public land use during their four-month legislative session.
On Friday, the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources voted to advance a number of bill draft requests that could deeply affect the state’s water use, including a bill that would essentially overturn Nevada’s “use it or lose it” water law.
Bill draft requests (BDRs) are not official bills, they are requests by lawmakers for a draft of the proposed bill they can further amend and discuss during the legislative session.