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Officials brace for ‘uncertainty’ in water transfers to Lake Mead

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Officials brace for ‘uncertainty’ in water transfers to Lake Mead


Key backup tubes inside the Glen Canyon Dam might be damaged, potentially threatening the delivery of water to Lake Mead in the future if water levels ever dip too low in Lake Powell, according to a Bureau of Reclamation memo.

Below 3,490 feet, water releases from Lake Powell are wholly dependent on “river outlet works,” which water managers now feel are not functional and could threaten the water supply downstream.

Currently, the reservoir sits at 3,558 feet, and the latest two-year projection places water levels above 3,560 feet until at least February 2026.

Looming threats of climate change and evaporative losses also are complicating state negotiations for how to allocate the shrinking Colorado River. Those talks are still at an impasse between the Lower Basin and Upper Basin states. The Bureau of Reclamation oversees river negotiations and operates government dams in the West.

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“Given the current uncertainty associated with long-term performance … it is recommended that Reclamation not rely on the river outlet works as the sole means for releasing water from Glen Canyon Dam,” the memo reads.

More than 30 million people in Nevada, California and Arizona depend on flows from Lake Powell to fill Lake Mead, meaning the need to address engineering flaws at the dam is pressing. While water managers investigate the damage, they will temporarily reduce flows out of these four tubes, according to the memo.

Solutions in short supply

At a hearing explaining the Lower Basin states’ proposal for river distribution in early March, former Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman said the agency would work to find engineering solutions to the dam’s problems. Burman now works for the Central Arizona Project, which helps manage water resources across the state.

“They have some unknown issues about how these river outlet works would perform,” Burman said at the meeting. “That’s very difficult, new information to hear.”

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Activists like Kyle Roerink, executive director of Great Basin Water Network, have long been concerned about the dam and how it was designed. Many have called for the dam to be decommissioned, though no formal plan has gained traction.

Roerink said he was surprised that the Bureau of Reclamation didn’t address the dam’s engineering issues in environmental impact statements prepared about the management of Lake Mead and Lake Powell.

The flaws in the design are something he expects to complicate river negotiations and the future availability of water to Lower Basin states like Nevada, he said.

“This is just another wake-up call in a litany of wake-up calls that we’ve had in recent years,” Roerink said.

Contact Alan at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.

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Oregon lands commitment from Nevada punter

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Oregon lands commitment from Nevada punter


Oregon has found its next Australian punter.

Bailey Ettridge, who averaged 44.66 yards on 47 punts at Nevada this season, committed to transfer to the Ducks on Sunday. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

From Lara, Australia, Ettridge had 15 punts over 50 yards and 18 inside opponents’ 20-yard lines this season. He also had two carries for 26 yards, both of which converted fourth downs.

Ettridge replaces James Ferguson-Reynolds, who is averaging 41.64 yards on 33 punts for UO this season. Ferguson-Reynolds and Ross James are both out of eligibility after the season.

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Ettridge is the first scholarship transfer to Oregon this offseason and his addition gives the Ducks 81 projected scholarship players in 2026. He is the lone punter presently on the roster.



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‘Winnemucca Day’ helps fuel Backus, Wolf Pack to 58-40 win over Utah State

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‘Winnemucca Day’ helps fuel Backus, Wolf Pack to 58-40 win over Utah State


RENO, Nev. (Nevada Athletics) – Nevada Women’s Basketball returned to Lawlor for the first game of 2026, hosting Utah State.

The Pack picked up its first conference win of the season with the 58-40 victory over the Aggies.

Freshmen showed out for the Pack (5-9, 1-3 MW) with Skylar Durley nearly recording a double-double, dropping 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Britain Backus had five points to go along with two rebounds and a season high four steals.

Junior Izzy Sullivan also had an impactful game with 17 points, going 6-for-11 from the paint and grabbing five boards. She also knocked down Nevada’s only two makes from beyond the arc, putting her within one for 100 career threes.

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The Pack opened up scoring the first four points, setting the tone for the game. It was a close battle through the first 10 as Utah State (6-7, 2-2 MW) closed the gap to one.

However, Nevada never let them in front for the entire 40 minutes.

Nevada turned up the pressure in the second quarter, holding Utah State to a shooting drought for over four minutes. Meanwhile, a 5-0 scoring run pushed the Pack to a 10-point lead.

For the entire first 20, Nevada held Utah State to just 26.7 percent from the floor and only nine percent from the arc, going only 1-for-11.

For the Pack offense, it shot 48 percent from the paint. Nevada fell into a slump coming out of the break, only scoring eight points.

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It was the only quarter where the Pack was outscored.

The fourth quarter saw the Pack get back into rhythm with a 6-0 run and forcing the Aggies into another long scoring drought of just under four and a half minutes.

Durley had a layup and jumper to help with securing the win.

Nevada will remain at home to face Wyoming on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

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EDITORIAL: Nevada’s House Democrats oppose permitting reform

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EDITORIAL: Nevada’s House Democrats oppose permitting reform


Politicians of both parties have promised to fix the nation’s broken permitting system. But those promises have not been kept, and the status quo prevails: longer timelines, higher costs and a regulatory maze that makes it nearly impossible to build major projects on schedule.

Last week, the House finally cut through the fog by passing the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act. As Jeff Luse reported for Reason, the legislation is the clearest chance in years to overhaul a system that has spun out of control.

Notably, virtually every House Democrat — including Reps. Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford from Nevada — opted for the current regulatory morass.

The proposal addressed problems with the National Environmental Policy Act, which passed in the 1970s to promote transparency, but has grown into an anchor that drags down public and private investment. Mr. Luse notes that even after Congress streamlined the act in 2021, the average environmental impact statement takes 2.4 years to complete. That number speaks for itself and does not reflect the many reviews that stretch far beyond that already unreasonable timeline.

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The SPEED Act tackles these failures head on. It would codify recent Supreme Court guidance, expand the projects that do not require exhaustive review and set real expectations for federal agencies that too often slow-walk approvals. Most important, it puts long-overdue limits on litigation. Mr. Luse highlights the absurdity of the current six-year window for filing a lawsuit under the Environmental Policy Act. Between 2013 and 2022, these lawsuits delayed projects an average of 4.2 years.

While opponents insist the bill would silence communities, Mr. Luse notes that NEPA already includes multiple public hearings and comment periods. Also, the vast majority of lawsuits are not filed by members of the people who live near the projects. According to the Breakthrough Institute, 72 percent of NEPA lawsuits over the past decade came from national nonprofits. Only 16 percent were filed by local communities. The SPEED Act does not shut out the public. It reins in well-funded groups that can afford to stall projects indefinitely.

Some Democrats claim the bill panders to fossil fuel companies, while some Republicans fear it will accelerate renewable projects. As Mr. Luse explains, NEPA bottlenecks have held back wind, solar and transmission lines as often as they have slowed oil and gas. That is why the original SPEED Act won support from green energy groups and traditional energy producers.

Permitting reform is overdue, and lawmakers claim to understand that endless red tape hurts economic growth and environmental progress alike. The SPEED Act is the strongest permitting reform proposal in years. The Senate should approve it.

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