Jeff Fontaine – Page 3

Nevada Supreme Court issues Opinion on the Lower White River Flow System

March 13, 2024 By Jeff Fontaine

The Nevada Supreme Court yesterday on January 25th issued a long awaited Opinion on State Engineer Order 1309 for the Lower White River Flow System. The Court found that the State Engineer has statutory authority to combine multiple basins into one hydrographic “superbasin” based on a shared source of water and to manage water conjunctively. The Court also remanded to the District Court a review of the evidence used by the State Engineer to determine the maximum amount of groundwater that can be pumped.

This is an important ruling that could have major ramifications for how water will be managed in Nevada, especially in the Humboldt River Basin.

Click here to read the Supreme Court Opinion.

District Court grants Stay of State Engineer’s Order 1329

March 13, 2024 By Jeff Fontaine

The Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada on January 24th granted a stay of the State Engineer’s Order 1329 pending a decision on the merits. The Court found that the Petitioner, Buttonpoint Limited Partnership, may incur irreparable harm should the stay be denied and that Order 1329 is actually more harmful to the public absent a stay, because it relies on an unfinished groundwater model, subjecting the public to a fundamentally unproven methodology for calculating capture and any permanent effect it may have on existing and future water rights.

Click here to read the District Court’s Order- Staying SEs Order 1329 Pending Disposition.

March 1st Nevada Water Supply Outlook Report brings good news for the Humboldt River Basin

March 11, 2024 By Jeff Fontaine

Snowpack in the Upper Humboldt River Basin is well above normal at 149% of median, compared to 166% at this time last year. Precipitation in February was well above normal at 188%, which brings the seasonal accumulation (October-February) to 126% of median. Soil moisture is at 65% saturation compared to 56% saturation last year. Snowpack in the Lower Humboldt River Basin is well above normal at 146% of median, compared to 158% at this time last year. Precipitation in February was well above normal at 218%, which brings the seasonal accumulation (October-February) to 133% of median. Soil moisture is at 67% saturation compared to 46% saturation last year. Reservoir storage is 43% of capacity, compared to 5% last year. March 1 forecasts in the Humboldt Basin range from 141-508% as a percent of median, or as expressed as a percent of average forecasts are 124-192%. These percentages point toward another strong runoff this spring and summer. This winter’s snowpack is very strong but still far below last year’s peak snow amounts. The Humboldt River generally has better runoff volumes when the system is primed by back-to-back above normal years. Examples include 1982-1984, 1996-1998 and 2005-2006. Each of these periods saw greater runoff volumes during the second and third years with above normal snowpacks. Click here to read the full Report.

DWR announces March 19, 2024 Humboldt stakeholder meeting and 2023 end of year update

December 3, 2023 By Jeff Fontaine

Nevada Division of Water Resources staff have been reviewing presentations and recordings from the series of meetings held on August 1, September 6, and September 26, 2023, and are compiling the key points and ideas for further analysis and consideration. Staff have also been reviewing the reports documenting the groundwater flow models for the upper, middle, and lower Humboldt regions. Evaluation of Stream Capture Related to Groundwater Pumping, Upper Humboldt River Basin, Nevada (Carroll et al. 2023) has been published as Bulletin 49 and Groundwater Discharge from Phreatophyte Vegetation, Humboldt River Basin, Nevada (Huntington et al. 2022) has been published as Bulletin 48, both of which are available on the NDWR website. The remaining model reports are still in review and will be similarly published when they are released.

The next meeting to update stakeholders on DWR’s analysis and ideas they believe can be implemented in the near term, longer term, and those that will require legislative action to move forward will be held at 1:00 pm on March 19, 2024, at the NDWR office and via Microsoft Teams.

Click here to read the full announcement.

Nevada Supreme Court issues order related to specialty water law judges

December 1, 2023 By Jeff Fontaine

The Nevada Supreme Court on July 7th issued an order adopting rules that provide for the specialized education and designation of district court judges adjudicating Nevada water law cases in a fair, just, and timely manner. The rules become effective six months from the date of the order. Click here to read the order.