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Requested News Item
| 11/18/2005 |
US Senate approves water bill providing aid to saline Walker Lake, Nevada, US |
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RENO, Nev. (AP) - The U.S. Senate has approved a multimillion-dollar package of water- and flood-control projects that includes $95 million to help save imperiled Walker Lake.
"With this funding, we are creating a way for everyone to work together and partner with our university experts to solve some of the toughest natural resource challenges in the country," Sen. Harry Reid said of Monday's passage.
"This is a balanced and comprehensive approach to managing land and water in the Walker River basin. It will also mean the beginning of real efforts to save Walker Lake and protect one of our state's most valuable natural resources."
The amendment - originally included in the 2002 farm bill - releases $70 million to the University of Nevada, Reno, for an agricultural and natural resources center to work on research, restoration and educational activities along the Walker River.
Another $10 million will provide for a water lease and purchase program for the Walker River Tribe; $10 million will go toward eradication of the thirsty tamarisk, which sucks up water from native plants, and $5 million for fishery improvements.
Reid, D-Nev., Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., have been working to create a means to release the funding, which was stripped from another spending bill earlier this year.
Louis Thompson, chairman of the Walker River Working Group, said he's hopeful the money will significantly aid efforts to reverse degradation of a lake in "dire straits."
Water levels at Walker Lake have dropped 150 feet over the last 120 years because of water diversions, mainly for agricultural irrigation.
"I hope it will help the process," Thompson said. "If we don't have another good water year - hopefully better than last year - I'm fearful we'll lose the fishery next summer."
Another $3.5 million is included in the energy and water bill for the Army Corps of Engineers to continue the planning and design of the Truckee River Flood Control Project.
At an estimated cost of $350 million, the project is being pursued to avoid floods on the Truckee River of the type that caused nearly $700 million in damage in January 1997. |
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