By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
After several months of deliberations, the Moapa Valley Water District (MVWD) Board of Directors has approved a change to district policy concerning its few remaining “banked” meter customers. In a meeting held Thursday, April 4, the board decided to set a final sunset deadline of January 1, 2020, on any uninstalled “banked” meters that remain inactive on the books at that time.
The few meters that still remain in this category have long been grandfathered into the MVWD system. In the mid 1990s, the district went through a period of encouraging customers to purchase meters in advance, even if they did not intend to put them into immediate service. This practice was called “banking” meters.
But with the rapid growth that occurred in the early 2000s, the MVWD position changed. By 2005, the pressures of growth were reaching a fevered pitch and the MVWD board passed a policy that altogether stopped the practice of “banking” meters. The new policy required immediate installation of all meters purchased after July 6, 2005.
There are still about 35 “banked” meters still showing on the MVWD books from that period. These meters had not hitherto received much attention as they had not posed any immediate problem to the district.
But recently, that has changed. A draft order, released by the Nevada State Engineer’s office in December, declared six large hydrographic basins in the region as interconnected. It proposes that all six must be managed as one superbasin. Included in that superbasin is the Warm Springs headwaters of the Muddy River where MVWD gets it water resources to service the community.
The draft order states that priority of water use will be given based on the seniority of rights ownership above that of beneficial use. This position could leave entities like MVWD short on water resources. Thus the MVWD board has felt a need to tighten down on long outstanding loose ends like “banked” meters.
Last week’s board action was a final effort to clear up the loose ends in the “banked” meters once and for all. During the meeting, MVWD General Manager Joe Davis explained that the district staff had compiled a list of possible options that the board might take in regard to the “banked” meters.
One option was that the district could merely buy back all “banked” meters immediately, simply refunding back the original purchase price of the meter to the current owner.
Another option would allow for a period of time to be set by which all “banked” meters must be installed. If they were not installed by that date, the refund of the original price would occur automatically. This option would allow customers some time to sell their “banked” meters at the current market prices to buyers looking to install them immediately. Davis added that the district could assist in making a market for the “banked” meters by keeping a list of willing sellers and then connecting them with interested buyers as they came forward for service.
“Our recommendation is to require all banked meters to be installed by January 1, 2020,” Davis said. “Any of them that are not installed after that day would be refunded for the original purchase price.”
During board discussion, MVTAB board member Lindsey Dalley stated that he would like to see the time limit be set further out. “I’d like it extended to at least a year,” Dalley said. “We don’t really know what the market will be on these and it might take more than just eight months for people to sell them. I just think extending it would be out of a sense of fairness.”
Board member Randy Tobler observed that he, himself, was an owner of a “banked” meter. “I am in the same boat with this and I feel like the beginning of the year is fair,” he said. “I’m okay if it goes longer, I guess. But I think the longest I’d go is a year.”
Other board members said that the January 1 date would encourage “banked” meter owners to take more rapid action on selling. “I like January 1 as the deadline, it’s a good clean break,” said MVWD Board chairman Ken Staton.
“I’m good either way,” said board member Ryan Wheeler. “But as long as they can get on the list and have a chance to sell it then I think January is plenty of time. Then we can see how it goes from there.”
Davis favored the January date because of the impending crunch on water resources that may soon be coming in the upcoming State Engineer’s ruling.
“There is a pretty tight timeline already laid out for that,” Davis said. “All of the engineering information must be submitted by June. July will be the period for entities submitting rebuttals. Then the order is due to come out in September. We felt it would be best to time it closely to these rulings.”
MVWD board member Jon Blackwell made the motion to require all “banked” meters to be installed by January 1, 2020 with any uinstalled meters in that class after that date being automatically refunded for the original amount paid. The motion was approved with a unanimous vote.
