August 21, 2026 - 4:17 am

The letter in Wednesday’s edition from Harold Rubin-Smith was very good in addressing the issue of water use as Pahrump grows. But unfortunately, also continued the misunderstanding of what the actual sustainable water usage from our Basin 162 aquifer is.

Yes, 20,000 acre-feet per year (AFY) is the official State Department of Water Resources figure for the basin’s potential yield. However, that figure is based on the requirement that Nye County capture 8,000 AFY of that figure from the deep water presently flowing across the California border thought to be around 3,000 feet down.

Our historical sustainable yield has been seen as 12,000 AFY and we are already using 3,000 AFY over that figure. Some areas in central Pahrump are seeing measured domestic well water levels dropping half to one-and-a-half feet per year which, over time, will disable thousands of wells.

Seven years ago, as a water district board member, I had a resolution passed to raise the present very low $5 a year portion of our property tax bill that funds the water district to $11 a year for only four years to get funding to begin exploratory drilling to find and test that deep water. The outcry started by the Private Well Owners co-op at that time was enough to get the Board of County Commissioners to override that resolution without fully understanding the impact of their action.

Please understand then that we do not actually have a sustainable water supply of 20,000 AFY to support growth – only the potential to have that much if we act to find it and commit to building the expensive infrastructure across our valley to pump and distribute it to where it is needed.

Walter Kuver

There is a lot of angst over the proposed building of the data center, and rightfully so, because the two things needed most by such projects are power and water (for cooling).

The power issue can be solved by using small nuclear electric generators, like the much-improved ones that have been used on U.S. Navy submarines and ships that have been around since the 1950s, and are becoming an option for many projects.

But they also need water for cooling purposes. The water solution: The Pacific Ocean is about 230 miles from Pahrump (that would be considered an endless supply). Wide use of desalination plants has been around for 60 to 70 years.

The Alaska Pipeline is about 800 miles long, with a much harsher terrain and climate. The project could even create some goodwill by a little “oversizing” and maybe supply Pahrump’s public buildings and schools with water. I believe this could turn a “no way”, to a “yes, how soon can you start and what can we do to help?”

David Jaronik