MVWD Votes To Acquire Water Shares

The Moapa Valley Water District (MVWD) Board of Directorys approved the acquisition of a number of privately held Muddy Valley Irrigation Company (MVIC) shares at a meeting held Thursday, February 12. The shares, held by Overton resident Cal Payne, had been offered for sale to the MVWD at the price of $50,000 per preferred share and $4,544 per common share. This price matches the current market price being offered to MVIC shareholders by the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA).

The proposed acquisition included four preferred water shares and 14 common shares. Common shares are restricted to winter water only and are valued at about 1/11 of a preferred share. The total price of the proposed acquisition was $263,616.

“Mr. Payne expressed a desire to have these shares remain here in the service area,” explained MVWD General Manager Brad Huza. “He prefers to keep the water in the valley but if we don’t take it, it will most likely be sold to SNWA.”

MVWD Board members asked Huza if the district could afford the acquisition. Huza responded that the district had budgeted $800,000 in the current fiscal year for water acquisition. Though the district has made two similar acquisitions so far in the fiscal year, there was still enough in the budget to make this transaction. “This will put us pretty close to the number, but we will still be inside of what we had budgeted for acquisition,” Huza said.

MVWD board member Guy Doty asked if the struggling economy presented any danger of putting the district in a difficult cash situation that should be planned for. Huza reported that the income from the sale of water had remained steady as projected. “I’m won’t say that we are entirely recession proof but we are in pretty good shape,” Huza said. “We have the money (for this acquisition) in the bank. They are liquid funds. We don’t have to finance any of it.”

MVWD Chairman James Robison felt that the course in the matter was clear. “If the opportunity is there and we have the funds allocated, we should buy the water,” he said. “There no real reason for conversation about it.”

A motion was made to approve the acquisition. The motion was carried with a unanimous vote.