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Overall, summer was wet in Nevada due to heavy monsoon rains in the Southwest that even fed
thunderstorms in northern Nevada. Rains were spotty, which is common for summer thunderstorms.
Many parts of the state remained wet through September, as well. Tropical cyclone Kay brought rain to
the southern part of the state early in September. An early-season winter-type storm delivered rain and
colder temperatures to northern Nevada. While normal to wet conditions led to some improvements,
particularly for range vegetation, it wasn’t enough to resolve three-year deficits. As of the October 16,
2022, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows almost all of Nevada in Severe (D2) to Extreme (D3) drought,
reflecting the longer-term deficits.
Impacts reported in September and October included:
• As of October 3, 2022, Lake Mead’s storage volume was 28 percent of the lake’s capacity with a
surface elevation of 1,045 feet above mean sea level.
• Ongoing concerns about reduced groundwater levels in portions of southern Nevada.
• Concerns about reduced surface water availability for wildlife and range livestock on public lands.
• Fire restrictions on public lands remain widespread across Nevada.
• Boating access to Lake Mead, Lake Tahoe, and Lahontan Reservoir are limited by low water levels.
• Ongoing drought conditions are or may impact the ability of reporting organizations to carry out
routine operations, such as road maintenance and ecosystem restoration.
• Ongoing water hauling actions for livestock and wildlife throughout the state.

Click here to read the full report.

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Click here to read the full October 18, 2022 – Drought Status Update for California-Nevada

Key Points

• Water Year 2022 started wet with a strong atmospheric river and ended in continued drought due to almost no precipitation during January through March. 
• The past 3 Water Years have been the driest in the California record. Both California and Nevada remain in almost 100% moderate-to-exceptional drought.
• Both evaporative demand and lack of precipitation are drivers of the current drought since it began in October of 2019. Water Year 2022 had much lower evaporative demand than Water Year 2021, which limited the drying of the landscapes and helped mitigate fire risk.
• Drought impacts (e.g., pasture conditions, ecosystem health, water supply, recreation, fire potential) have intensified and expanded given back-to-back dry years. Drought preparedness is key.
• A ‘three-peat’ La Niña winter is forecasted for Water Year 2023, suggesting continued dry conditions in southern regions of California and Nevada. Extended range forecasts indicate the first atmospheric river of the Water Year will hit the west coast in the next 7 days. 

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While summer was wet, rains were spotty, which is common for summer thunderstorms. Nonetheless,
drought intensity has waned, and as of the August 16, 2022 US Drought Monitor map, Nevada is free of
D4 – Exceptional Drought for the first time since September 2020.
Impacts reported in July and August included:
• Nevada’s combined Colorado River shortage/Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) Agreement
contribution will be 25,000 acre-feet (AF) for 2023 operations, an increase from 21,000 AF in
2022.
• Ongoing concerns about reduced groundwater levels in portions of southern Nevada.
• Concerns about reduced surface water availability for wildlife and range livestock on public
lands.
• Fire restrictions on public lands are widespread.
• Boating access to Lake Mead, Lake Tahoe, and Lahontan Reservoir are limited by low water
levels.
• Ongoing drought conditions are or may impact the ability of reporting organizations to carry
out routine operations, such as road maintenance and ecosystem restoration.
• Ongoing water hauling actions for livestock and wildlife throughout the state.

Click here to read the full report.

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The Nevada Legislative Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Subcommittee on Public Lands will hold their final meetings in Las Vegas on August 22nd beginning at 9 am. The meetings will be videoconferenced to the Legislative Building in Carson City and live streamed over the Internet. The Subcommittee will consider the following water related actions during their work session:

• Request the drafting of a bill to address water conservation and the enhancement of return flow in southern Nevada, including, without limitation, the use of Colorado River water in septic systems and modifications to the nonfunctional turf program.
• Draft a position statement in the final report of the Subcommittee expressing opposition to proposed water development projects in southern Utah that would negatively impact groundwater and surface water flows in Nevada and supporting aggressive conservation alternatives.
• Request the drafting of a resolution addressing the management of the Colorado River wherein this state: (1) sets forth the principals on water conservation relating to the Colorado River; and (2) shares various conservation efforts it has taken to conserve water in the Colorado River.
• Request the drafting of a bill to clarify the processes and authority for the conjunctive management of surface and groundwater basins, including, without limitation, the public notification processes, appeals processes, and the role of science in modifying management practices within such basins.

Also, the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources will consider the following water related actions during their work session:

• Draft a position statement in the Committee’s final report expressing support for
  adequate funding for the Division of Water Resources, DCNR, to update its data
  collection efforts, studies of water basins, and adjudication of water rights.
• Draft a position statement in the Committee’s final report expressing support for
  funding for the Desert Research Institute, within the Nevada System of Higher
  Education, and its programs, including cloud seeding operations.

Click here for more information on the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources and here for the Subcommittee on Public Lands.

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The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (Division) has decided to not present Proposed Regulation R119-20 which sets forth a process for the State Environmental Commission to classify a surface water of the State or segment thereof as a water of extraordinary ecological, aesthetic or recreational value (EAW) and establishes provisions for antidegradation protection of Nevada surface water resources, to the SEC for adoption as a permanent regulation at the June 15^th hearing.  Instead, the regulatory petition will be changed to an Information Item on the June 15^th hearing agenda to provide exposure and seek input from the commissioners related to the overall intent of the proposed regulation.

According to NDEP comments provided during the workshops and submitted later indicate further revisions and clarification are necessary to resolve several outstanding issues.  NDEP has started to revise certain aspects of the proposed regulation in response to those helpful comments and suggestions that were provided.  A couple of significant preliminary revisions that have been made by NDEP are:

EAW Nominations

Petitions to nominate a water as an EAW will follow one process which is to file the petition with the SEC pursuant to NAC 445B.886.  NDEP will be seeking advice from the SEC at the June hearing on the extent and level of detail of information and material that would need to accompany a nomination petition.  The nominating party would be responsible for assembling all information necessary to nominate a water for classification as an EAW and be responsible for any associated costs.

NDEP will also be seeking input from Commissioners as to what information and material would be expected to be included in a regulatory petition that would be developed if the SEC decided to initiate rulemaking proceedings on the nominated water.  A LCB prepared regulation to classify (designate) the nominated water as an EAW would be heard at a subsequent SEC hearing.  Although not explicitly stated in the regulation, the petition would follow the administrative rule-making process as is currently done for all water quality related regulations.

Antidegradation Provisions  

NDEP is still proposing to retain tiers of antidegradation protection with the following changes:

Tier 2 – High quality water levels will be maintained and protected using the existing RMHQ program.  The process of developing RMHQs would be adopted into the proposed regulation as a way for NDEP to satisfy antidegradation protection requirements when the level of water quality for a parameter is better than the water quality standard.

Tier 1 – Would be applicable to effluent-dominated waters (on a parameter-by-parameter basis) except when RMHQs exist for certain parameters.  A definition for effluent-dominated water has been developed for inclusion in the proposed regulation.

Incorporating the concepts behind RMHQs into the regulation will allow some other major issues to be addressed such as: developing a threshold that defines a better water quality level (e.g., a certain % below the water quality standard level); evaluating the impacts of a discharge from the perspective of how the levels of water quality in the receiving water may be altered.

Other issues planned to be discussed internally before making revisions to draft regulation include:  what situations trigger an antidegradation review during a permit renewal; who should do the antidegradation review for efficiency reasons; and how to address situations where water quality data may need to be collected to develop a RMHQ.

NDEP will also address other issues and matters as they work through the process of revising and refining R119-20.  NDEP will be requesting a time extension from LCB for adoption of the draft regulation and will organize and schedule a meeting to discuss the changes as well as responses to comments submitted.

Proposed Regulation R119-20 is available at: https://hrbwa.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NDEP-R119-20P.pdf

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Snowpack in the Upper Humboldt River Basin is well below normal at 37% of median, compared to 52%
at this time last year. Precipitation in April was below normal at 75%, which brings the seasonal
accumulation (October-April) to 90% of median. Soil moisture is at 77% saturation compared to 78%
saturation last year.

Snowpack in the Lower Humboldt River Basin is below normal at 79% of median, compared to 105% at
this time last year. Precipitation in April was about normal at 101%, which brings the seasonal
accumulation (October-April) to 104% of median. Soil moisture is at 74% saturation compared to 65%
saturation last year. Reservoir storage is 6% of capacity, compared to 29% last year.

Click here to read the May NRCS Nevada Water Supply Outlook Report.

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