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Ely council reallocates $10,000 to Great Basin Water Network to study Steptoe Valley water-permit transfers
Summary
Council unanimously approved redirecting $10,000 in 45G tax funds to the Great Basin Water Network to research whether recent water-permit transfers into Steptoe Valley complied with state processes and to assess potential impacts on city and private water rights.
The Ely City Council unanimously approved reallocating $10,000 in 45G tax monies at its Dec. 12 meeting to the Great Basin Water Network (GBWN) to research recent water-permit transfers in Steptoe Valley and evaluate potential impacts on municipal and private water rights.
GBWN Executive Director Kyle Roerink told the Council his organization has been involved in watershed and water-rights issues for decades and described prior modeling work using USGS data to estimate drawdown scenarios and potential impacts of large groundwater withdrawals. "When we use the USGS model, the City of Ely's water rights could be impacted as well as many other members of the community," Roerink said, adding that the nonprofit sought technical research and next steps to defend due-process and private property rights.
Mayor Nathan Robertson framed the allocation as a fact-finding step, saying the research is not litigation but an effort to determine whether transfers were conducted correctly by the Nevada Division of Water Resources. Councilwoman Jerri Lynn Williams-Harper pressed for public outreach and transparency; Roerink and the mayor agreed any public-facing report or community meeting should follow completion of the research.
The Council’s motion reallocating the previously committed funds to GBWN passed unanimously. Mayor Robertson emphasized that information presented to the Council must be publicly disclosed and that the city will host review opportunities once the research is complete.
The research will be presented to the Ely City Council when available; the Council asked staff and GBWN to plan public briefings to explain any findings to residents.
