SECTION 1 <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Water</strong> <strong>Resource</strong> <strong>Management</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> Development Information WATER RESOURCES and WATER USES Much of the water for agriculture, ranches, recreation areas, and communities of the county is provided by snowfall from the high watersheds. The highest average precipitation in the River Basin is to be found in the Ruby Mountains. Some 44% of the total basin water yield comes from the Ruby Mountains and the East Humboldt Range. <strong>Water</strong> yield from 65% of the Basin is negligible while a 10,000 acre area in the Ruby Mountains yields more than 30 inches per acre of water annually. Some water from the west slope of the Ruby Mountains is diverted to the east slope due to fault planes and fractures in the limestone formation of the mountains south of Harrison Pass. Three of <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong>’s four incorporated cities, Carlin, <strong>Elko</strong>, and Wells lie within the Humboldt River Basin. The basin encompasses 15% of the state and is composed of approximately 20 sub-watershed areas. Through conservation these watersheds could yield more water resources. The Humboldt River Basin receives 9,285,000 acre feet of water per year resulting from rain and snow. In 2000, when <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong>’s population was estimated to be 45,251 persons, it was estimated that total water withdrawals were approximately 936,593 acre-feet, or 23.2 % of estimated total water withdrawals within <strong>Nevada</strong>. This makes <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong> the largest water user among all of <strong>Nevada</strong>’s seventeen counties. Estimated water use in <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong> in 2000 was 2.1% greater than in 1990, but 11.5% below total water use in 1985. Of the total 2000 total water withdrawals, public supplied (i.e., municipal and industrial, or M&I) water withdrawals were estimated at 14,920 acre-feet, or 1.6 % of the county’s total water withdrawn for all purposes. From the table below, it may be seen that most of the water withdrawals in <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong> have been used for irrigation purposes (97% of total water withdrawals in 2000) while water withdrawals for domestic purposes, i.e., residential use from all sources, constituted only 1.2% of total water withdrawals in 2000. Based on the 1995 water use data, along with comparable period population and employment figures, it is estimated that <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong>’s public supplied water use per person (also referred to as municipal and industrial, or M&I, water use per capita), based only on the estimated population served by public supply water systems, was 332 gallons per person per day as compared to a usage rate of 456 gallons per person per day in 1985 and 348 gallons per person per day in 1990. It has been estimated that 213,903 acres were irrigated in <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong> 243,960 irrigated acres in 1985 and 210,150 irrigated acres in 1990). This amount of irrigated acreage comprised approximately 29.9% of the state’s total 1995 irrigated acreage of 715,439 acres (843,760 acres in 1985 and 728,650 acres in 1990). This 1995 level of irrigated acreage placed <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong> as the highest in terms of county irrigated acreage in <strong>Nevada</strong> at that time (and well above the second-place county of Humboldt with 142,558 irrigated acres). Based on 1995 estimates of both total irrigated acreage and total irrigation water withdrawals, the average water use (withdrawals) on irrigated acres in <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong> was estimated at approximately 4.2 acre-feet per acre per year. <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong>’s 1995 irrigation conveyance losses were estimated at 0.9 acre-feet per acre per year, thereby leaving irrigation water available for consumptive use of 3.3 acre-feet per acre per year. Considered in its entirety, the Humboldt River system represents a highly efficient irrigation water conveyance and distribution mechanism. Agricultural water users along this river system, stretching from the river’s headwaters in <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong> through Eureka, Lander, Humboldt and into Pershing <strong>County</strong>, benefit from a continuous process of water diversion, SECTION 1 - Page -24-
SECTION 1 <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Water</strong> <strong>Resource</strong> <strong>Management</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> Development Information application, return flow, and reuse. Consequently, measures of irrigation conveyance losses and water withdrawals do not fully reflect the actual workings of the overall river system. In 1995, the value of total farm marketings for <strong>Elko</strong> <strong>County</strong> was $40.527 million, down 23.6 percent from $53.071 million in farm marketings in 1990, but up 21.4% over $33.379 million in total farm marketings in 1985. Figure 15 - <strong>Water</strong> Withdrawals by Source Figure 16 - Statewide <strong>Water</strong> Withdrawals SECTION 1 - Page -25-
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