Pahrump’s water watchdogs just drew a hard line. The Nye County Water District governing board voted Tuesday to ask county commissioners for a temporary halt on new data center projects in the Pahrump Valley, arguing that the region’s already strained groundwater supply cannot handle another major draw. Board members told the meeting they had fielded dozens of calls from worried residents and landowners.
Board action and emergency order
As reported by Nevada Current, the board on May 26 signed off on an emergency order that asks the Nye County Commission to place a moratorium on data centers in the Pahrump regional planning district. The order includes draft ordinance language that would classify data center projects as a non-permissive use of water in Nevada Hydrographic Basin 162. Board members told the outlet that the move followed dozens of calls from locals and included discussion of potential limits on evaporative cooling systems.
Meeting on the record
The board’s May 26 agenda carved out a specific item for "discussion … of large-scale data centers," and staff materials cited basin work the district is undertaking on detention basins and source-water protection. According to the Nye County Water District agenda, the session took place in Pahrump and was open for public comment.
Why Pahrump’s water is at issue
The Pahrump aquifer, known as Nevada Hydrographic Basin 162, has been described by state regulators and local reporting as critically over-appropriated, with more water rights on paper than the basin can sustainably supply. The Nevada Independent has documented recent and contentious efforts by the state engineer to limit new domestic wells in the basin.
Evaporative cooling and regional limits
Evaporative cooling, a method that sheds heat by evaporating water, was singled out because it can consume large volumes of potable water. The Southern Nevada Water Authority has already adopted a moratorium on evaporative cooling for new commercial and industrial buildings, and regional reporting shows Las Vegas-area data centers together used hundreds of millions of gallons of consumptive water last year, according to the Review-Journal.
Utilities are fielding applications
Local utilities told the board they have received multiple applications from data center developers seeking power in the Pahrump area. As Nevada Current reported, board members stressed that they do not have land-use authority to approve or deny data centers and that any moratorium or ordinance would have to be adopted by the Nye County Commission.
What happens next
The water board’s emergency order is advisory and non-binding. The commission is the body that would need to take regulatory action. The Nye County Commission was scheduled to meet May 27 in Pahrump, with meeting times and agendas posted on the county calendar.
How this fits in Nevada
Nye County’s request lands as other Nevada local governments are also tapping the brakes on data center approvals while they study water and grid impacts. Reno’s city council approved a temporary moratorium earlier this month as part of a broader effort by cities and state agencies to consider tighter rules for large-load facilities, according to reporting by KUNR.
For Pahrump residents, the debate sharpens a familiar Nevada trade-off: chase economic development and data center jobs now or lock in stricter protections for long-term groundwater resilience. Utilities, developers and local officials will now look to the county commission for a decision that could define how, and even whether, data centers move into the valley.
