Nevada strikes $16.25M deal to keep water in Lake Mead as feds near decision

Alan Halaly, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Aug 20, 2026

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The Southern Nevada Water Authority has agreed to leave some of its water in Lake Mead this year in exchange for cash to comply with what water managers expect to be a firm requirement to do so through 2028.

At a board meeting Thursday, directors ratified an agreement between the water authority and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that gives Nevada $16.25 million in federal funds for conserving an amount equal to one-sixth of its total Colorado River allocation.

In 2026, the authority will leave 50,000 acre-feet in Lake Mead — the struggling reservoir that supplies about 90 percent of Southern Nevada’s water supply and is falling to new record lows each month.

John Entsminger, general manager of the water authority, told board members it was a good deal, considering that the Trump administration’s recent final environmental impact statement might require 100,000 acre-feet to be left in Lake Mead during the next two years.

“We’re almost certainly going to be required to make this sort of a system conservation contribution, anyway,” he said. “The question really becomes: Do we wait for a year or two years when federal funding may well not be available, or do we recognize that it’s a smart business decision to take the federal funding while we can and still have the water available to us to offset reductions to Nevada’s overall allocation?”

Entsminger said his staff pulled the item from July’s board meeting agenda to iron out the details with Reclamation and ensure the state wouldn’t be doling out its water for the government to give to another user.

Colby Pellegrino, SNWA’s deputy general manager of resources, said board members were asked to ratify the agreement because Entsminger had signed it before the board’s ratification in order to meet the federal government’s funding timeline.

Pellegrino and Entsminger said they do not know when the Trump administration will issue a final operating plan for the Colorado River, but state negotiators are still having conversations behind the scenes to iron out further details.

“It could come down today, it could come down tomorrow,” said Entsminger, who added that he had spoken with other officials Thursday morning. “But within the next few weeks, we will get a record of decision for how the Colorado River is going to be operated at least for the next couple years, and maybe for the next 10 years.”

Pellegrino said whether Nevada gets credit for conserving the water under a new federal operating plan is immaterial because Nevada has no remaining storage capacity this year. She conceded that negotiations may still lead to the U.S. Supreme Court and whatever plan is imposed on the states may fall apart.

“We have nowhere to store that water this year. Our bank is full,” Pellegrino said. “In that light, we’re getting compensated for 50,000 acre-feet that would be left in Lake Mead no matter what.”

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