Kyle Canyon Water District Improvement Project - Phase I
BACKGROUND
Kyle Canyon is approximately 6,800 feet above sea level atop Mount Charleston and is approximately 35 miles from downtown Las Vegas. Native Americans seasonally inhabited the site for thousands of years before the first residential establishment was built in 1915. Today, Kyle Canyon is a popular rural residential area, boasting over 300 homes. Kyle Canyon and the Mount Charleston areas are also desirable getaways for thousands of Las Vegas residents and tourist each year. The area provides popular year-round recreational opportunities include skiing, hiking, climbing and camping.
A steady increase in Kyle Canyon's residential activity led to the formation of a local water district to manage the area's permanent water supply and water distribution system. The Kyle Canyon Water District was formed on December 5, 1973, when Clark County adopted Ordinance Number 419 pursuant to NRS Chapter 318, General Improvement Districts. The district is administered by Clark County, but the water system has been maintained and operated by the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD) through a contract with Clark County since 1974.
At their meeting on March 13, 1996, the Board for Financing Water Projects awarded a grant to the Kyle Canyon Water District. The grant was amended by the Board on March 4, 1998, and again on June 2, 1999. The amended project included construction costs of: 6720 feet of pipe; a pressure reducing valve; a booster station; a Rainbow pump & motor; 2 new 125,000 gallon storage tanks; and New Echo Well 4 with chlorination.
Echo Well No. 4 was drilled in 1998 as a result of this AB 198 grant. This well was to serve as an emergency/backup well in the event of the failure or abandonment of Well No. 3. However, existing geologic conditions have not yielded the anticipated water quality or quantity results. At flow rates over 60 gpm, water samples from Well No. 4 indicated increased turbidity above the maximum nephelometric turbidity (NTU) limit, a secondary water quality standard. The well is only capable of safely producing 60 gpm, a flow rate that is insufficient to serve the community as a reliable backup well source. Staff hydrologists expressed concerns about impacts to the existing aquifer's hydrologic properties if this new well, Well No. 4, was to be continuously operated. Therefore this well in not in service.
According to a January 30, 1998 letter, the Bureau of Health Protection Services determined that the eligible volumes for the 2 storage tanks were 129,850 gallons in the Upper Zone and 99,225 gallons in the lower zone (based upon 700 gallons per connection per day for operational storage and 75% of that value for emergency storage). LVVWD had calculated the eligible volume using lower historic water use figures and determined that the costs associated with 2 - 66,000 gallon storage tanks would be AB 198 eligible. The grant eligible costs used by the Board were based upon the 2 - 66,000 gallon storage tanks rather than the large volumes determined to be eligible by the Bureau of Health Protection Services. The 300,000 gallon Echo View Reservoir requested in this (2002) grant application (total cost $552,800) exceeds the January 30, 1998 determination of the Bureau of Health Protection Services.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Improvements for the Kyle Canyon area have been categorized into four (4) major phases as recommended by the Las Vegas Valley Water District:
Phase 1 - Drill and equip Echo Well No. 5 and construct a 300,000 gal reservoir -
Kyle Canyon is divided into four major residential subdivisions that are served by two groundwater wells and three reservoirs. Echo subdivision has 69 residential services, Rainbow has 150, Cathedral Rock has 30 and Old Town has 73. The Echo and Cathedral Rock subdivisions are the two highest in elevation. When needed, surplus flow from the Echo community can be used to supplement higher demands in lower subdivisions. However, a well failure in the Echo subdivision would devastate the system as no existing facilities have the pumping capacity to be used in the event of well repair or replacement. Kyle Canyon's Well No. 3, located in the Echo subdivision, was drilled in 1964 and continues to be the only functional well for the Echo neighborhood. The new well, Well No. 5, will replace Well No. 4 and be the principal well. Existing Well No. 3 will be used as a backup source of supply. Extreme temperatures, dryness and out door recreational activities put certain areas in southern Nevada at high risk for forest fires. Kyle Canyon, with its heavily wooded residential neighborhoods, qualifies as such an area and can be considered vulnerable to fire outbreaks. According to the applicant, the construction of a 300,000 gallon reservoir is needed for fire prevention and mitigation efforts. The new reservoir will also serve as additional storage capacity for increased use during peak summer demands. Increased water storage capacity is desirable to bring the system in compliance with established fire storage and flow requirements.
Phase 2 - 7,600 feet of 6- and 8-inch pipe -
When the existing storage and distribution system was constructed, fire flow regulations had not yet been established. Regulations now require that 1,000 gallons per minute (gpm) of water be available for fire prevention and abatement. Kyle Canyon's current distribution system has a capacity of only 500 gpm. In order to bring the system within compliance of these codes, it is necessary to replace existing 4-inch pipeline with new 6- or 8-inch pipeline.
Phase 3 - Install 252 water meters -
The meter installation project will include the installation of ¾-inch water meters with remote readers to 252 existing residences. The installation consists of excavation of the existing water service lateral, installation of a new curb stop box with lid, meter setter, frost box with lid, and all other appurtenances. The meter program is considered an integral part of the Kyle Canyon conservation initiatives and is consistent with the intent of AB 237 of the 70th Nevada Legislature. During testimony before the Nevada Legislature on AB 237 in 1999, the Kyle Canyon Water District was one of the small systems cited as an example of a project that could benefit from the conservation grant envisioned by AB 237. To date, the LVVWD has installed over 100 meters during a pilot program to test their effectiveness in cold climates. All meters are functioning with minimal maintenance. The LVVWD has also been gathering data from the existing meters in anticipation of working with area's residents on a possible metered water rate structure for the system.
Phase 4 - 13,000 feet of 6- and 8-inch pipe -
This phase of the project will upgrade the distribution system (approximately 13,000 linear feet of 6- and 8-inch pipelines) to increase fireflow capacity at all fire hydrants.
The Las Vegas Valley Water District applied for a grant under the AB 198 program to assist the Kyle Canyon Water District with a water system improvement project. A grant was approved by the Board for Financing Water Projects (Board) on June 26, 2002, for $811,156 (61.9% of the total eligible project cost of $1,310,430). The scope of the current project includes Phase I: drill and equip Echo Well #5 and construct a 300,000 gallon reservoir.
PROJECT STATUS
Drilling and equipping of Echo Well #5 is complete. The US Forest Service issued a Notice to Proceed for the 300,000 gallon storage reservoir on July 8, 2005. Construction of the tank started on July 12, 2005, and completed in the Spring of 2006.
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