From North To South, Nevada Drought Deepens

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RENO, Nev. (AP) - "A Las Vegas shopping center is trucking in water from as far away as Canada to fill its fountains. Reno will have to dip into its drought reserve supply for the first time in a decade. The most popular public ramp on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe is closed because there's not enough water to float a boat. Nevada is not only the fastest growing state in the nation, it's also one of the driest. And it keeps getting drier.

"There is no question that the state, from Lake Tahoe in northern Nevada to Lake Mead in southern Nevada is in the midst of a difficult drought," Gov. Kenny Guinn has said. The U.S. Farm Services Agency in Nevada meets on Monday to decide whether to recommend a disaster area declaration to the governor and federal Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. All 17 counties received the designation last year.

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Along with parched lawns and fields, the conservation service said five dry winters have taken a toll on reservoir storage. Tahoe is expected to drop below its natural rim next month, cutting off its flow of water into the Truckee River. The Truckee Meadows Water Authority then will begin tapping other upstream reservoirs and its underground wells. In the south, Lake Mead is expected to drop below 1,125 feet above sea level by year's end, its lowest point in 39 years. That would prompt the Southern Nevada Water Authority to declare a drought emergency because no surplus water is available from the Colorado River, which provides the Las Vegas area with about 90 percent of its supply.

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Lake Tahoe, which held 136 percent of its annual storage in 1999, now stands at 24 percent. Upstream storage alternatives to Tahoe for the Reno area's water needs are somewhat better at 82 percent of average for July 31 compared with 145 percent six years ago. Storage on the Lower Colorado, including Lake Mead, is at 67 percent of average, down from 120 percent in 1999."

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[bemildred]

1. Dare we mention golf courses in the desert here? nt

[donsu]

2. tick, tick, tick

nt