The Nye County Water District Governing Board on Aug. 12 unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing the district to participate in an update of the Nye County Water Resources Plan to be conducted by the Desert Research Institute.

Board members voted 6-0 to allow the general manager or his designee to coordinate with DRI and to support the study through data sharing and collaboration. The vote was taken after the manager and several board members described the plan as informational, nonbinding and not intended to change local policy.

The board’s manager told the meeting that DRI has worked with the district on multiple projects and that the update is expected to require only limited local staff time. The manager said the DRI work will be funded with state ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) monies and that no Nye County Water District operating funds will be required for the study. He and others said the update will mostly refresh dates and numbers rather than make radical changes to the existing document, which was last revised in 2017.

Board members opened the item to public comment and heard no objections. The manager said the district will coordinate data sharing and that the district’s role is to provide information and not to impose requirements on planning or developers.

Why it matters: The Nye County Water Resources Plan is a publicly available, nonbinding technical and informational document used by county planners, developers and others to understand water conditions in the county. The DRI update will influence forthcoming planning discussions and provide refreshed data about water availability and trends.

What happens next: The manager will coordinate with DRI and with county natural-resources staff on the update. The board’s resolution approving participation was entered into the record and will be part of the project’s administrative backup.

Supporting detail: At the meeting board members reiterated that the Water Resources Plan is a tool — not a regulatory ordinance — and emphasized that the DRI update will be funded by external ARPA dollars, minimizing direct budget impact to the district.