Water is life. Yet in the driest state in the nation, too many Nevadans lack access to clean, safe, and affordable drinking water.

This burden falls disproportionately on:

• Tribal communities
• Immigrant and farmworker families
• Rural households relying on domestic wells
• Low-income neighborhoods served by small or aging water systems

In a state defined by drought and scarcity, water access is not only an environmental concern, it is a matter of public health, economic justice, and human dignity.

Nevada Realities

• Nevada receives less than 10 inches of precipitation annually, making it the driest state in the U.S.
• More than 20,000 Native people in Nevada have lacked complete indoor plumbing, a sign of ongoing infrastructure inequity.
• Groundwater over-pumping threatens long-term water security for communities, agriculture, and ecosystems.
• When water is unsafe, families must rely on expensive bottled water, forcing impossible choices between water, food, housing, and medicine.

Water insecurity in Nevada is both geographic and racial, reflecting historic underinvestment and ongoing economic inequality.

Why This Matters to Lutherans

Water is central to our faith.

In baptism, we are:

• welcomed into the body of Christ
• marked with God’s promise
• called into a life of love for our neighbor

If some of our neighbors cannot safely drink from their own tap, the church is called to respond.

As the ELCA teaches:

• Caring for Creation: Water is a sacred trust, not a commodity to be used without regard for future generations.
• Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All: Access to basic resources like water is essential for human dignity.
• Human Rights: Clean water is necessary for health, life, and community.

Because we are people of baptism, water justice is a faith issue.

LEAN supports policies and public investments that:

1. Strengthen Water Infrastructure

• Fund upgrades for rural and small community water systems
• Prioritize underserved and historically excluded communities

2. Support Tribal Water Access and Sovereignty

• Honor and implement Tribal water rights
• Invest in safe and reliable water infrastructure for Tribal nations

3. Protect Rural Nevadans Using Domestic Wells

• Provide free or low-cost well testing
• Expand access to arsenic and nitrate treatment systems

4. Ensure Water is Affordable

• Create equitable rate structures
• Prevent water shutoffs for vulnerable households

5. Safeguard Nevada’s Water Future

• Promote responsible groundwater management
• Protect water for people, ecosystems, and future generations

A Matter of Faithful Witness

At the font, we proclaim that water is a sign of God’s grace for all people.

That promise calls us into public life so that every household in Nevada—urban, rural, and Tribal—has access to water that is:

Safe
Reliable
Affordable

Water is life.
Water is dignity.
Water is a sacred trust.