Water officials struggle with more than just shortages

MATT FARLEY, RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
11/18/2007

While dry winters followed by scorching summers are nothing new to the citizens of Northern Nevada, the combination creates a year-round barrage of concerns for officials tasked with keeping the region hydrated, clean and relatively green. And many worries go deeper than simple shortages.

"Like everybody else, we're praying for a big snowpack that's going to take a long time to melt," said Ken Arnold, public works operations manager for Carson City. "But that's nowhere near our biggest problem."

While the amount of water available to the city ebbs and flows with seasons and weather conditions, a more permanent challenge recently surfaced in the form of new Environmental Protection Agency regulations that reduce the amounts of uranium and arsenic allowed in municipal water, Arnold said. Under the new rules, water from some existing wells cannot be used unless it is treated or blended with water from less-contaminated sources.

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