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<br />., <br /> <br />. Annual Ruedi Operations Public Meeting:. On May 5, the Bureau of Reclamation hosted its <br />annual Ruedi Reservoir operations public meeting. The meeting was held at the Basalt Town <br />Hall, 101 Midland Avenue, Basalt, <br /> <br />The primary focus of the meeting was on Ruedi Reservoir's operations over the past water year <br />(2004) and projected operations for the current water year (2005). Other topics relevant to Ruedi <br />Reservoir and the Fryingpan-Arkansas project were also on this year's agenda. They included <br />topics like the marketing ofRuedi water to the west slope and a brief review of programs that <br />might influence releases from Ruedi Reservoir to the Fryingpan River. The meeting concluded <br />with a public question and answer session. <br /> <br />Expert Says Desalting Sea Water Will Help California Cope with Growth: With another 20 <br />million Californians expected by 2050, a state water official said changing sea water into tap <br />water must playa more significant role to make sure there's enough drinking water for the <br />burgeoning population. <br /> <br />"We're living on finite water resources. I don't know where we're going to get that. To me, <br />desalination in all its forms is going to have to playa much larger role," Pete Silva, vice chair of <br />the State Water Resources Control Board, told scientists on April 25th. <br /> <br />Silva, speaking at the International Salinity Forum at the Riverside Convention Center, said the <br />four desalting plants currently on the state's 1,110 miles of coastline are producing an <br />. insignificant amount of water. <br /> <br />Nevada Governor Opposes Bill Protecting Rural Water Supplies: A legislator who faces <br />opposition from the Guinn administration to her bill that would help rural areas fighting against <br />the export of their water to booming Las Vegas said April 7 she's not giving up. <br />Steve Robinson, Guinn's energy adviser, tpld the Assembly Government Affairs Committee that <br />-Leslie's AB434 would bog down applicatiPns by the Las Vegas Valley Water :6istricfto pump <br />water from rural White Pine and Nye counties. Robinson said later that Guinn isn't opposed to a <br />study of the state's water resources - but AB434 and AB253, a companion measure by <br />Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka, would "retard the entire water rights transfer <br />process. " <br /> <br />State Engineer Hugh Ricci said Leslie's bill "provides no additional protections to existing water <br />users not already granted in current statutes," adding it's "not a basis for good water policy." <br />Ricci also said the measure would cause long delays for pending water applications, and could <br />even create public health and safety concerns. <br /> <br />On Wednesday, conservationists, ranchers and others urged lawmakers to approve both bills to <br />improve water management, back off speculators and help fund water rights adjudication - a <br />formal process pending for decades in many cases. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />AB434 would require the state engineer to adopt goals for water conservation in all counties in <br />the state, provide a process and funding to clarify the status of existing water rights, and require <br />public hearings on any interbasin water transfers. Under the measure, the state engineer would <br />have to ensure that all rulings on water rights are in the best interest of the public. Also, the bill <br />requires the state Environmental Commission to have as a member an expert in conservation_ <br /> <br />23 <br />