Nev. Farmers Fighting Water Plan

Construction workers build a luxury home at the construction site of Toll Brothers in Henderson, Nev., in this file photo made on Tuesday, May 22, 2007. The Southern Nevada Water Authority wants to draw more than 11.3 billion gallons of groundwater a year from from the Delamar, Dry Lake, Cave valleys and all in central Lincoln County. That amount of water, expanded through reuse and other means, could supply more than 100,000 homes in the fast-growing Las Vegas area. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) (Jae C. Hong - AP)

Davis said the pumping will only take the amount of groundwater that is naturally replenished each year in the valleys. But opponents include the federal Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Ranchers and other landowners who oppose the plan are getting support from groups such as the Western Environmental Law Center, Great Basin Water Network and the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, among others.

The water authority's theory on available groundwater is challenged by Susan Lynn of the Great Basin Water Network, who said the water "recharge" in the area is not substantial and pumping will dry up springs there and in adjacent areas.

"They don't call it Dry Lake Valley for nothing," Lynn said. "This is just simply mining of water. Once it's gone, it's gone."

The water authority's eventual goal is to tap into enough water in rural Nevada to serve more than 230,000 homes, besides about 400,000 households already getting the agency's water in the Las Vegas area, one of the fastest growing regions in the nation.

The agency hopes to begin delivering the rural groundwater to Las Vegas by 2015.

Economic analyst Jeremy Aguero said an inadequate water supply would have wide-ranging consequences, including a slowdown in investments and construction, reduced public services and other problems that could ripple across Nevada.

"Imagine a situation in which developers believed tomorrow couldn't be a better day because development would be stalled by insufficient water resources," Aguero said.