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Nevada Well Owners Association Web Site Our Mission Statement |
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Site updated last on October 1, 2007
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The Nevada Well Owners Association (NWOA) is a not-for-profit organization made up of well owners from across the state. It was formed in 1999 by a group of homeowners who were concerned with attempts by state and local officials to curtail well use, especially in Southern Nevada. They feared the conversion of hundreds, perhaps thousands of well users onto municipal water against their will, and at crippling expense - over ten thousand dollars per home on average, over twenty thousand dollars in some cases. And the hook-up costs are rapidly escalating. The officers and directors of the Association serve without pay. The group is dedicated to the protection of the rights of those who get their household water from wells. It seeks this goal through the education of elected officials and the public at large, and through support of legislation aimed at creating fairness in the arena of water use. It is the position of the NWOA that well owners in Nevada have a right to continue to responsibly use their wells, and should not be forced onto municipal water against their will. Since its inception, the group has been extremely active at local and state levels, working on laws to protect well owners. These efforts have been opposed at every turn by a team of lobbyists paid with public dollars, on behalf of water authorities and municipal purveyors. At the 1999 legislature, NWOA representatives successfully fought for AB 408, a law which temporarily gave well owners an extra measure of security. To date, this bill has saved well owners hooking up to municipal water literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. It has also slowed the rate at which the State Engineer is able to force former well users to connect. In the 2003 legislative session we achieved a major milepost - the removal of the sunset clause. With much assistance from helpful legislators, our lobbyist and many members we succeeded in removing the sunset. This also extended the benefit to wells drilled since 1999. Unfortunately though a new issue has appeared which will require further effort in future legislative sessions. The State Engineer wishes legislation authorizing fines and liens for those who overdraw the water allocated by their well permit. Initial efforts are underway to explore this issue. NWOA will represent the well owners interest and will keep the membership informed as this new issue develops. Well owners are generally extremely conscientious about water usage, mainly because they are acutely aware of the source of their limited water supply. They know that depleting groundwater supplies is in no ones' best interest. Only a very small percentage of Nevada water use is attributable to private residential uses. NWOA feels that the effort to curtail this usage (at unreasonably high public and private expense) is poorly directed, irresponsible, and not calculated to lead to any significant public benefit. Support of the Nevada Well Owners Association is support for responsible water usage, for preservation of this scarce Nevada resource, for equal rights and protections of homeowners, regardless of their choice of water source, and for well owners having a voice in their own future. Until these things are achieved, the Association will continue its fight. |