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2017 Legislature

Nevada water rights bill gets unanimous support

Reclaimed water is shown Feb. 14 in the aeration basin at the Clark County Water Reclamation District in Las Vegas. (Raven Jackson/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @ravenmjackson
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By Sandra Chereb Review-Journal Capital Bureau
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CARSON CITY — A bill requiring the state engineer to prepare a water budget and inventory of groundwater each of Nevada’s 256 water basins was approved Tuesday by the Nevada Senate.

Senate Bill 47, approved on a unanimous vote, also declares it is state policy to manage the Nevada’s surface and groundwater resources conjunctively, rather than as separate sources.

It also clarifies that if a water right user fails to put the resource to beneficial use for four or more consecutive years, the state engineer must notify them they have one year to prove beneficial use to avoid forfeiture of the water right.

The bill now goes to the Assembly.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3821. Follow @SandraChereb on Twitter.

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