Churchill County Water System Improvement Project
BACKGROUND
Churchill County is located in northern Nevada approximately 60 miles southeast of Reno and 60 miles east of Carson City. The current population, as of the 2000 census, is 26,247 of which 8,386 reside within the city limits of Fallon, the county seat.
The county was named after Brevet Brigadier General Sylvester Churchill (1783-1862). Churchill served as Inspector General of the Army for 20 years and was a hero in the Mexican War. The first army fort established in Nevada was Fort Churchill in 1860, built on the banks of the Carson River, twenty-five miles east of Carson City. The fort was named after the general and remained active until 1869.
Churchill County applied for grant money to develop a new County owned and operated water system that will consolidate a number of existing publicly owned and privately owned water systems located west of Fallon that do not meet current State requirements. These systems include subdivisions, mobile home parks and commercial businesses along Highway 50. The existing water systems to be consolidated include: Pine Grove subdivision, Country Club Estates subdivision, West Star Mobile Home Park, Oasis Mobile Home Park, and commercial businesses such as Jetway Chevrolet along Highway 50. Two other areas could be served by the new county water system in the future including the Virginia Mobile Home Park and an existing 78-unit subdivision west of Country Club Estates that contains single family homes with individual wells and septic systems on half-acre lots.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Churchill County applied for a grant under the AB 198 program to assist with a water system improvement project. The grant was originally approved by the Board for Financing Water Projects (Board) on July 20, 2004, for $1,999,678 (54.48% of the total eligible project cost of $3,670,678). In order to combine five separate private water systems into one county owned water system, the scope of this project was to construct a new water well, a new water storage and pumping facility, and a distribution system to serve 314 residential customers and 59 commercial customers including fire hydrants, water meters and service connections.
In April 2005, Churchill County returned to the Board for an increase in grant funding. The Board approved the addition of the water treatment plant for the removal of iron and manganese to the original scope of work from the 2004 grant. The total grant amount was increased to $2,328,408.73 (~54.48% of the total eligible project cost of $4,273,878). Althought there was concern that arsenic would also require treatment, the Board's policy at that time was not to fund arsenic treatment. The County expected to have minimal difficulties incorporating a ferric chloride addition to the system for arsenic removal.
In August 2006, Churchill County returned to the Board for a further increase in grant funding. Significant cost increases over the engineering estimates were received during the bidding process. In addition to the cost increases, several major changes in the scope of the project occurred. These changes were based on the County's desire to minimize water treatment costs by consolidating the maximum number of water sources into the minimum number of treatment facilities. The total grant amount was increased to $3,206,515.41 (~54.48% of the total eligible project cost of $5,885,674.40). However, further cost information regarding the operations control building that housed the treatment train, booster and fire pump systems, and operations crews was still to be reviewed. The final bid for the operations site was $2,114,987. Churchill County presented a revised estimate of the eligible project cost for the operations center based upon an engineering estimate of the building size necessary to support a treatment plant and booster pump system for the existing EDUs. The estimated reduction in overall building size was based on a smaller equipment footprint including: the booster pump system footprint (one less pump than in the design), the elimination of a filter vessel from the treatment plant design, and the elimination of the bathroom. The County determined that a cost of $1,462,279 was justified for the existing EDUs.
In November 2006, the Board approved a total grant amount increase to $3,667,667.54 (~54.48% of the total eligible project cost of $6,732,135.71) to assist with the operations center.
PROJECT STATUS
The County planned this new water system in conjunction with its new wastewater distribution and treatment system and both projects were conducted concurrently. The wastewater system is in the start-up phases and was not eligible for grant funding through this program.
The primary water distribution system is now complete with an inter-tie to Jetway Chevrolet in progress. The water storage tank and new Sand Creek well are complete. The Sand Creek Operations Center with treatment and booster pumps is complete and in the start-up phase. The treatment for arsenic was complicated by the need to add not only ferric chloride but also a polymer to aid flocculation and an in-line static mixer.
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