A Community Based Approach to the Western Water Crisis
by Kat Dow
Driving through Nevada on Highway 95 can be a lonely journey. Sprawling expanses of scrub desert, interrupted only by mountains and telephone poles, extend mile after mile, as far as the eye can see. Human settlements are often hours apart. It can come as quite a shock to a traveler, then, to see the landscape suddenly open up to reveal a sparkling desert lake nestled into the valley at the foot of the Wassuk mountain range.
It was this site that caught Harry Reid’s eye in 1969 as he traveled from his home in Henderson to the state capitol in Carson City to serve his first term in the Nevada state legislature.
If the story is to be believed, it was the mysterious lake in the middle of the desert that first piqued his interest in the fate of the terminal lakes that he would later champion as it grew undeniably clear that many were at risk of ecological ruin.
Walker Lake is the terminus of the river system in the Walker River Basin, an approximate 3,000 square mile watershed that straddles the state line from western Nevada into California.
For millennia, it was the lifeblood of the Agai Dicutta (Trout Eaters to the Numu, now recognized as the Walker River Paiute Tribe), who derived their name from the lake they called Agai Pah (Trout Lake). It was host to several species of fish endemic to the Great Basin: the cui-ui, the Tahoe sucker, and, most notably, the Lahontan cutthroat trout, which would spawn in the freshwater upstream in the Walker River and make their way to the alkali lake at the bottom of the system where they could grow up to 40 pounds.
In an all too familiar story, the western expansion of the United States made its way to the Walker Basin in the mid to late 1800s. Agai Pah was renamed Walker Lake as settlers proliferated throughout the West, removing and replacing indigenous communities and their ways of life. Utilization of natural resources became the underpinning of the development of the West, and the use of water for commercial and agricultural purposes was heavily encouraged as settlers flocked to find their fortunes in a place considered at the time to be a blank slate.
As the result of agricultural and commercial development in the basin, Walker Lake, at the very bottom of the system, has lost 90% of its volume. All species of fish have been extirpated from the lake as the total dissolved solids of the remaining water have increased beyond tolerable limits. Without adequate freshwater inflow from the Walker River, additional effects include a decline in elevation of nearly 200 feet, shoreline recession of as much as seven miles, increased water temperatures, and decreased dissolved oxygen levels.
Without adequate freshwater inflow from the Walker River, additional effects include a decline in elevation of nearly 200 feet, shoreline recession of as much as seven miles, increased water temperatures, and decreased dissolved oxygen levels.
Alarms for the health of Walker Lake were beginning to ring as far back as the 1980s, when scientists from the Nevada Department of Fish and Wildlife began taking note of the declining fish population and monitoring water quality. In 1991, a group of area residents and other citizens formed the Walker Lake Working Group to build public support for a long-term solution to protect the lake. What resulted is a Public Trust suit currently in its third decade of adjudication as the case gets kicked back and forth between State and Federal courts.
Thirty-three years after Harry Reid’s fateful drive past Walker Lake, the passage of the 2002 Farm Bill created the Desert Terminal Lakes Program, from which emerged the Walker Basin Restoration Program (WBRP). Initially administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the WBRP was granted over $311 million for restoration efforts, including acquisitions, research, and conservation activities. It became the highest funded program of permanent water right acquisitions in the country. The Walker Basin Conservancy (Conservancy) was founded in 2014 as part of the WBRP. The Conservancy functions as the local non-profit under which NFWF would “hold and exercise water rights acquired by, and to achieve the purposes of, the Walker Basin Restoration Program” (111th Congress 2009).
Of the total funding granted to the WBRP, nearly $185 million was made available for the purchase of land, appurtenant water, and other related interests in the Nevada portion of the Walker Basin to help restore water levels in Walker Lake. Funding later expanded to include efforts in the California portion of the basin as well. To achieve this goal, the funding amount reflects the volume of water required: an estimated average of 50,000 acre-feet (AF) of reliable inflow per year.
With the establishment of the WBRP and the Conservancy, a sort of “proof of concept” is being undertaken to establish more innovative and permanent pathways to water and natural resource conservation. Traditionally there have been only a few approaches to water conservation in the West – the “buy and dry” method, in which the buyer purchases land strictly for its water rights without regard for the health or use of the land, usually selling off the dry land afterwards; or through use of temporary water leasing, which compensates water rights holders for the temporary cessation of use of those water rights, usually for a period of up to three years. The Conservancy is instead using a “buy and manage” method and recognizes that agriculture is an integral part of the Walker Basin. The Conservancy strives to support the local economy and a productive community, alongside its goal of restoring Walker Lake.
Farming in the Walker Basin has long been a challenging and expensive endeavor, a situation made even more uncertain by the growing frequency and intensity of droughts. This, along with the nature of tight-knit rural communities, meant that early efforts of the WBRP and its water acquisitions were met with a mix of skepticism and distrust by many. Concerns over the potential impact these initiatives would have on local agriculture and livelihoods were palpable, as many questioned whether the project would truly benefit both the environment and the people who depend on the land. It took years of effort, steady community presence, and outreach by the Conservancy to counter these misgivings. Trust is integral to successfully completing a water deal and while there remain some doubts about the Conservancy’s methods and intentions, the sincere desire to be a valuable and contributing member of these communities has proven to be the best path towards gaining that trust.
Ten years on from the establishment of the Conservancy and 15 years after the establishment of the WBRP, 56% of the estimated 50,000 AF restoration goal has been acquired. With twenty-seven successful water transactions completed, there are still many legal hurdles ahead to ensure the administration of those water rights instream for wildlife purposes. To date, only a portion of those acquired rights have successfully completed the change application process. Even so, the Conservancy’s success in the Walker Basin shows that temporary water leasing is not the only possible strategy for reallocating water between historic and contemporary water needs.
In addition to the permanent acquisition of water rights within the Walker Basin, the Conservancy has helped to develop and implement an annual storage water leasing program through the Walker River Irrigation District (WRID). This is a means to temporarily transfer storage water rights from Topaz and Bridgeport reservoirs upstream into the Walker River for the benefit of Walker Lake. The program compensates water rights holders for enrolling their water to be sent downstream on an annual basis. After the fourth successful year, almost 46,000 AF of water that would otherwise have no legal means of exiting the bounds of the irrigation district has been put instream.
Looking ahead, the Conservancy continues to navigate the many challenges presented in fighting for water conservation and the preservation of natural resources and is leading the charge to redefine the methods utilized to achieve these goals. Through a 2024 initiative of Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Conservancy received pilot funding for groundwater rights retirement in over-pumped and over-appropriated regions throughout the State. Groundwater levels in the Walker River’s Smith and Mason Valleys have been declining for decades. Through the grant 1,700 AF of groundwater rights were purchased and retired, permanently removing them from use. The successful execution of the pilot program has set a precedent for permanent groundwater retirement and provides a roadmap for implementation of this strategy in the long-term.
There is hope on the horizon for the sparkling lake hidden in the desert.
Sunrise at Walker Lake - photo by Kathy Trujillo of Hawthorne, Nevada
To date, the Conservancy has worked with 156 farmers and ranchers in the Walker Basin and has sent over 71,000 AF of WBRP water to Walker Lake. This along with the historic winter of 2023 provided enough inflow to Walker Lake to raise the elevation by 16 feet, bringing it to its highest level since 2012. The efforts of the Conservancy demonstrate the potential to balance permanent water acquisition and instream flow restoration with enhancement of rural economies and communities. If you wish to learn more about or help with the Walker Basin Conservancy’s work to conserve, rehabilitate, and preserve the precious natural resources of the Walker Basin, please visit walkerbasin.org or contact us at info@walkerbasin.org
Kat Dow is the Water Program Manager for the Walker Basin Conservancy. Her work involves the acquisition of water rights from willing sellers and working to put that water instream for the benefit and restoration of Walker Lake. Born in Hawthorne Nevada, just a few miles from Walker Lake, she watched the decline and eventual collapse of the lake up close. Kat lives in Reno, Nevada but makes frequent trips all over the Walker Basin on behalf of the Conservancy and returns to Hawthorne and Walker Lake often to see her family and friends there.
