State confirms no drought in Mesquite

Jason King, Nevada state engineer, confirmed Thursday that despite the severe ongoing drought impacting states and metropolitan areas throughout the west, Mesquite is in outstanding shape and remains strong.

“The Virgin River basin is in very good shape,” he said. “If the drought continues over the years then maybe the drought would be more impactful on Mesquite, (but) the basin is doing fine.”

King referenced a report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from 1969 that found Mesquite’s underground aquifer can store up to an estimated 2.9 million acre feet of water.

In another USGS report from 1997, it says “The amount of recoverable ground water in storage in the Muddy Creek formation in the Beaver Dam wash area is estimated to be about 1.5 million acre feet per 100 feet of saturated material.”

“That number is astronomical,” said Aaron Bunker, Virgin Valley Water District hydrologist.

One acre foot is the amount of water it would take to cover an acre 1-foot deep. In water parlance, it’s about the amount of water a suburban family might use annually or approximately 325,853 gallons.

The 1969 report titled “Water Resources-Reconnaissance Series Report 51” is a water-resources appraisal of the lower Virgin River Valley area that includes Nevada, Arizona and Utah. The report was prepared by the staff of Nevada District of the U.S. Geographical Survey. The 51 reports describe the hydrology of 158 valleys.

“Precipitation within the area is the main source of groundwater entering the valley-fill reservoirs in Tule and Escalante deserts, but in the lower Virgin River Valley, infiltration of streamflow provides the principal source of groundwater,” the report says.

“The USGS report is a reliable source regardless of how old it is,” King said. “It gives a good description of how Mesquite and Bunkerville gets their water. I’m not sure how much water is in the aquifer now, I couldn’t even estimate how much is there.”

“It would take a extensive work to figure out how much water is in the aquifer right now,” Bunker said. “The aquifer level is not dropping though. It’s one of the larger aquifers in the basin.”

Kevin Brown, Virgin Valley Water District’s general manager told the Desert Valley Times in April that Mesquite and Bunkerville have sufficient water for decades.

“If the drought continues for another 30 to 40 years, we may have a different tune in two or three years if we’re having the same discussion.”

All of the Virgin Valley’s water is groundwater, Brown explained. VVWD also has service rights on the Virgin River it leases to a couple golf courses for irrigation.

King said the VVWD’s recent permit allows the district to pump water in an amount not to exceed 11,207 acre feet.

“That’s a pretty good number,” he said.

Follow Brandon on Twitter, @BmullensDVT, and Facebook, BmullensDVT. Contact him at 702-346-7495.

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