Nevada water officials say the state needs to restrict water waste and underground water use in the face of lingering drought conditions.
State water officials will make their plea to the Senate Government Affairs Committee Wednesday during the presentation of Senate Bills 65 and 81.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture declared most of Nevada a natural disaster area last week due to lingering drought and officials say more trouble is coming for ranchers and farmers in western Nevada where irrigation cutbacks have been ordered.
The bills would change laws governing water waste and groundwater basins.
Republican Sen. Pete Goicoechea said the bills were critically important for parts of rural Nevada that have come to largely depend on groundwater due to the state's extended drought. Â (AP)
