Water Doesn't Vote,

Water Doesn’t Vote,

Water is a simple thing. It flows where it must, settles where it can, and never once has it needed a politician’s permission to exist. But in Nevada, where the land is dry and the deals are slick, some folks have decided that water’s value depends entirely on who’s pumping it.

Take Assembly Bill 109 (AB109), a bill meant to close a loophole that lets mining and geothermal companies pull groundwater without the usual permitting process. Now, if you’re a rancher or a farmer, you already know what happens when you sneeze near a water source—you get a stack of regulations dropped in your lap, along with a lecture about conservation.

But if you’re in the business of lithium mining, well, that’s different. Suddenly, the same lawmakers who preach about sustainability can’t roll out the red carpet fast enough.

The Biden administration, with full-throated support from Nevada’s Democratic leadership, had been pushing lithium mining under the banner of “green energy.” The same people who claim to be protecting the land are now cheering on a rush to tear it up—all because lithium makes electric vehicles and solar batteries, and that, they say, makes it worth the sacrifice.

Never mind that the mines need vast amounts of water. Forget that the aquifers won’t stay put once you start pulling them apart.

“Yes, you can return water to the source after it’s pumped,” says Kyle Roerink of the Great Basin Water Network. “But that pumping throws off aquifers. And it unstabilizes and unbalances aquifers.”

In other words, water is not an obedient servant—it won’t simply sit back where you put it, waiting for reuse. Once it’s disturbed, it goes where it pleases, and often it never returns at all.

Of course, the mining companies insist they are responsible stewards. Albemarle, which runs the nation’s only active lithium mine at Silver Peak, says it “carefully measures water withdrawals” to ensure “no adverse impacts.” It’s a comforting thought—if you’re the kind of person who believes a pickpocket is honest just because he counts the coins before he takes them.

Water doesn’t understand politics. It doesn’t know that some industries get a free pass while others get crushed under regulation.

It exists, or it doesn’t. And when it’s gone, all the “green energy” promises won’t bring it back.

So, push for lithium mines in the name of the future. But don’t pretend it’s about protecting the land. The water knows better.