Domestic Well Water Levels
August 8, 2007
Declining Water Levels in Domestic Wells
in Spanish Springs
Concerns regarding drawdown of water levels in domestic wells in the Spanish Springs valley were addressed at the Spanish Springs Citizen Advisory Board by Dan Dragan, Vahid Behmaram and Joe Howard, Department of Water Resources.
Domestic Well Owners Audio/Video
Overview - Audio/Video
Summary
Commissioner Bob Larkin - Audio/Video
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Basin's Natural Recharge |
Existing Water Rights |
1,000 acre feet |
7,000 acre feet |
- Washoe County Department of Water Resources (the County) is pumping close to 3,000 acre-feet of water out of the aquifer. The Department plans to reduce that to 1,800 acre-feet per year.
- The difference of some 1,200 acre-feet will be made up by importing more water from Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) who would wholesale it to the County.
- This TMWA water will be delivered in a pipeline that will be built at a future date.
- The County's monitoring wells are showing NO decline in the basin's water level. This is attributed to the recharge occurring from the Orr Ditch.
- As the Kiley Ranch sells its water rights along with the golf courses, the Orr ditch will go dry and that considerable recharge will be lost.
- There will be increasing pressure on the Golf Courses to use treated effluent; once they do, they can sell their Orr Ditch water rights.
- Some people with domestic wells, particularly in the East and North East portions of Spanish Springs Valley, are essentially on their own. They are too far from infrastructure to hook up to a community system.
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