Water | Extension | University of Nevada, Reno

Pratical water advice you can trust

Providing information, programs and training grounded in research to help people, agencies and other stakeholders sustainably manage Nevada's water.

Featured Programs

Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL)

Nevada Naturalist

Nevada Creeks & Communities

Featured Informational Publication

A buffer strip with drought-tolerant plants between the lawn and the sidewalk.

Reducing Lawn with Buffer Strips

If you’d love to keep your lawn but are tired of some of their maintenance headaches and are looking for an eco-friendlier option that will conserve water and prevent water pollution, we have the perfect solution for you – buffer strips!

Read more about this Informational Publication

All Water Programs

Calming the Waters: Learning to Manage Western Water Conflict

Conflict has surrounded the Truckee, Carson and Walker River Basins for decades. Key issues include historical use on tribal lands, historical and current water rights, threats to water quality, and wildlife habitat protection. This program teaches youth about Nevada’s water issues and helps them develop the skills needed to address future water conflicts.

Conservation & Sustainability

Extension offices provide support and research for many conservation initiatives throughout the state of Nevada. In addition, a partnership with Nevada's Conservation Districts has been formed which assists both organizations with the overall vision of Conservation for the state of Nevada while providing additional education and resources to help conserve Nevada's natural resources.

Desert Green, Commercial Water Conservation Training

Desert Green is in its eleventh year and is designed to educate commercial clientele in the Green Industry as well as others who have an interest in water conservation issues. A committee representing the industry implements the training. Desert Green is chaired by one industry representative and one Extension representative. The program is presented once a year, with 36 classes taught in a two-day period.

Enhancing climate resilience on tribal lands

Native Waters on Arid Lands

Native Waters on Arid Lands is a five-year (2015-2020) project that partners researchers and extension experts with tribal communities in the Great Basin and American Southwest to collaboratively understand the impacts of climate change, and to evaluate adaptation options for sustaining water resources and agriculture.

Nevada Creeks & Communities

An interagency and interdisciplinary program designed to meet Nevada's need for riparian management education. The program team teaches workshops and submits proposals; writes articles and publications; and works with landowners, land users, and interest groups and agencies.

Nevada Desert Bioscape

Extension’s Desert Bioscape program takes a holistic approach to conserving natural resources in an urban setting. This program targets adult learners in the green industry of southern Nevada. The program uses the successful Correctional Horticultural program as a model for development. Implementation of the curriculum meets the needs of people already working in the industry. In addition to these goals, training will be translated into money savings for the

Nevada Naturalist

This program educates adult volunteers who educate others and engage in environmental projects in southern Nevada.

Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL)

Training will provide participants with local water, soil and plant information, basic and advanced irrigation principles and hands-on water audit skills they can use in the field

SNOWPACS: Synthesizing kNowledge to Optimize Water Policy for Agriculture under Changing Snowpack

SNOWPACS is a National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)-funded project on the impact of changes in mountain snowpack on agricultural production and water allocation institutions in the western United States.

Water for the Seasons

Water for the Seasons (WftS) is a program that partners scientists with community water managers and water right holders in the Truckee-Carson River System (TCRS), to explore new strategies and solutions for dealing with extreme climate events such as droughts and floods.

Water related Books, Articles, Fact Sheets, Reports, Videos...


A Guide to Desert Bioscape This publication will help the reader understand how to garden more efficiently in the Mojave Desert and in other dry areas. Beautiful yards and landscapes can be created while applying environmentally friendly principles. Putting these principles into use will help conserve water in one of the driest spots on earth. Robinson, M.L., Johnson, W.S., Post, R.L., and Carlos, W.J. 2004, Extension, University of Nevada, Reno, SP-04-12
A role for water markets in enhancing water security in the western United States?: Lessons from the Walker River Basin. Climate change is increasing water scarcity in many semi-arid snow-fed river basins; competition over water resources challenges water security in the western U.S.; water markets reallocate water via voluntary trading among water right holders; understanding perspectives on water allocation and market design. Koebele, E.A., Singletary, L., Hockaday, S., and Ormerod, K.J. 2022, Water Policy 24(11): 1757–1771
Adapting to Variable Water Supply in the Truckee-Carson River System: Results of Focus Groups Conducted in 2016 with Local Water Managers Water for the Seasons is an integrated research and Extension program that partners researchers with community stakeholders in the Truckee-Carson River System to explore new strategies and solutions for dealing with droughts and floods. Sterle, K. and Singletary, L. 2017, Extension I University of Nevada, Reno, SP-17-15
Adapting Truckee River Reservoir Operations for a Warmer Climate This fact sheet reports results from Water for the Seasons, a collaborative modeling research program that partners researchers with water managers representing the diverse water-use communities in the Truckee-Carson River System in California and Nevada. Sterle, K.M., Jose, L., Coors, S., Pohll, G., Singletary, L., and Rajagopal, S. 2018, Extension I University of Nevada, Reno, FS-18-06
Add plants to attract hummingbirds Attracting hummingbirds to your garden can be done by adding specific plant species. Fisher, J. 2018, Reno Gazette Journal
Agricultural Water and Produce Safety With Nevada's small and medium produce growers in mind, DFI shares their ways of managing the quality of water on produce farms to ensure that it does not become a vector for foodborne illness. This can include water for irrigation, fertigation, foliar sprays, frost protection, cooling, and produce washing. Moe, J. 2020, Desert Farming Initiative, University of Nevada, Reno
Agriculture is a Good Fit in Floodplains The floodplain plays a vital role in the safety of our community and downstream communities when large rain-on-snow floods occur, about every 15 or 20 years. Learn more about agricultural land use and communities mistakes involving floodplain in this factsheet. Cobourn J. and Lewis S. 2011, Extension \| University of Nevada, Reno, FS-11-69
An ecological function and services approach to total maximum daily load (TMDL) prioritization Prioritizing total maximum daily load (TMDL) development starts by considering the scope and severity of water pollution and risks to public health and aquatic life... Hall, Robert K., Guilliano, David, Swanson, Sherman, Philbin, Michael J., Lin, John, Aron, Joan L., Schafer, Robin J. and Heggem, Daniel T. 2014, J. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 186(2):2413-2433 April.
An Overview of Agricultural Production and Agricultural Water Use in Humboldt County, Nevada, and the Risk From Withdrawing Irrigation Water Agriculture is an important economic sector in Humboldt County, Nevada. There are over 350 farms and ranches in the county that operate on over 808,000 acres. Sales from agricultural products totaled just over $135 million in 2012 (last census of agriculture). Schultz, B. 2017, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
An Overview of Water Scarcity and Water Market Development Water Issues Education Series – No.5 This fact sheet contains information on water scarcity and water market development by examining market-based approaches to manage water conflict, the potential for third-party injuries and negative economic externalities, water rights, and many more. L. Singletary 2005, Extension \| University of Nevada, Reno, FS-05-23
Aquatic Habitat Condition Index, Stream Type, and Livestock Bank Damage in Northern Nevada The quality of stream habitat varies for a variety of natural and anthropogenic reasons not identified by a condition index. However, many people use condition indices to indicate management needs or even direction... Myers, T. J. and S. Swanson 1991, Water Resources Bull., 27(4):667-677
Assessing the Climate Resiliency and Adaptive Capacity of the Truckee-Carson River System: Preliminary Results of a Survey of Local Organizations Water for the Seasons partners scientists with community stakeholders in the Truckee-Carson River System to explore new strategies and solutions for dealing with extreme climate events, such as droughts and foods. Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Singletary, L., Sterle, K., and Simpson, K. 2016, Extension I University of Nevada, Reno, SP-16-03

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