The State Engineer will hold a public workshop to provide information on Humboldt River Region water
modeling studies by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Desert Research Institute and provide an update on current water supply status for the Humboldt River Region as well as a summary and overview of recently issued Order 1329.
The public workshops will be held:
• Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. at the Lovelock City Hall, 400 14th Street, City Council Meeting
Room, Lovelock, Nevada
• Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. at the Humboldt County Cooperative Extension Building, 1085
Fairgrounds Road, Winnemucca, Nevada
• Wednesday March 9, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. Nannini Administration Building, County Commissioners Chambers, 540 Court Street, Elko, Nevada
The Division can make reasonable accommodations for members of the public who are disabled and wish to attend the meeting. The Elko meeting can also be attended online through Elko County’s website:
https://cms2.revize.com/revize/elkocountynevada/meetings/board_of_commissioners/index.php. If special
arrangements for the meeting are necessary, please write the Nevada Division of Water Resources at 901 S. Stewart Street., Suite 2002, Carson City, Nevada, 89701, or call (775) 684-2800.
The latest NRCS Nevada Water Supply Outlook Report is now available online
Snowpack in the Upper Humboldt River Basin is above normal at 113% of median, compared to 72% at
this time last year. Precipitation in December was well above normal at 152%, which brings the seasonal
accumulation (October-December) to 140% of median. Soil moisture is at 53% saturation compared to
23% saturation last year.
Snowpack in the Lower Humboldt River Basin is well above normal at 139% of median, compared to
93% at this time last year. Precipitation in December was well above normal at 171%, which brings the
seasonal accumulation (October-December) to 166% of median. Soil moisture is at 52% saturation
compared to 25% saturation last year. Reservoir storage is 5% of capacity, compared to 30% last year
Click here to read the Nevada Water Supply Outlook Report – January 7, 2022
A Wet December Drought buster, false hope, or somewhere in between?
Upper Humboldt snow water equivalent increased by 4.1 inches from late December storms: Click here for the January 6th CALIFORNIA-NEVADA DROUGHT STATUS UPDATE
Governor Sisolak signs proclamation affirming that climate change threatens Nevada with aridification
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2021
LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed a proclamation recognizing the significant threats to the economy of the Sagebrush State and the livelihoods of Nevadans from reduced water availability as the outcome of increasing temperatures.
“The fact higher temperatures would pose challenges to Nevada’s water availability is an inevitable consequence of the physics of climate. We are the driest state in the nation and while many stakeholders have done a tremendous job at improving efficiencies, we are all going to be dealing with less water,” said Governor Sisolak. “State agencies have been doing great work to address these challenges whether it is with our agricultural producers by the Department of Agriculture, wildfire fuel management projects by Division of Forestry or emergency water hauls by the Department of Wildlife to protect wildlife; the threat across the board is a changing climate.”
This year all seventeen counties have seen federal designations as drought disaster areas with approximately 90% of the state currently facing severe to exceptional drought. According to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 2020-21 drought in the Southwest is the worst since 1895. In July, over 40% of the State was designated in a state of exceptional drought by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Since 2015, the Nevada Drought Forum has convened to develop strategies to address the impacts of drought across Nevada and the State and the University of Nevada support Extension’s Living with Drought website that connects Nevadans with resources to support preparation, response, and recovery from drought.
“Drought has become frequent across Nevada because of increasing temperatures. Less snow, drier landscapes, and changing water resources indicate a potential shift toward aridification,” said Dr. Kristen Averyt, Senior Climate Advisor. “It may snow and rain periodically, providing some relief, but our water budget is in the hole, and drought will come back.”
The impact of drought is evident across the state with multiple agencies having to respond to changing conditions. With many of Nevada’s 256 hydrographic basins and sub-basins over-appropriated, climate change is complicating the work of the State Engineer in resolving already difficult adjudications of rights based on documentation that dates to the State’s founding. To prevent population loss among bighorn sheep, the Nevada Department of Wildlife conducted emergency water hauls. The State Water plan is also being updated by the Division of Water Resources.
The proclamation coincides with the meeting of the Colorado River Water Users Association Conference taking place this week in Las Vegas. Recent modeling by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that manages Lake Mead has triggered a federal declaration of a water shortage as the elevation of the lake has fallen to 1,075ft, the lowest since it was originally filled.
The proclamation can be found here.
State Engineer issues Order 1329 for the Humboldt River Basin
The State Engineer on December 7, 2021 issued Order 1329 dated December 7th establishing interim procedures for managing groundwater appropriations to prevent the increase of capture and conflict with rights decreed pursuant to the Humboldt River Adjudication. Click here to read the Order.
Sign Up for Drought Alert Emails by Location
Sign up to get automated email alerts when U.S. Drought Monitor conditions change for your location, or when NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center releases a new drought outlook, predicting whether drought will develop, persist, or improve. Want to track multiple locations? Once you sign up, there will be a link to subscribe to additional locations. You can unsubscribe or manage your preferences at any time. Click here to sign up for drought alerts.
