Lovelock Meadows Water District Water System Improvement Project
BACKGROUND
In 1866, George Lovelock donated 80 acres of his 312-acre ranch to the Central Pacific Railroad for a town site. Later that year, the Railroad built a station and named it after its donor. The estimated population in 1866 was 60 people. The town grew slowly until the need for a potable water source and fire supply system became a major political issue in 1914. The scarcity of water in 1915 compelled the town board to curtail the use of water and levy a $5 fine against people who left water running after a certain hour. The greatest municipal accomplishment of 1916 was voter approval of a $90,000 water system bond issue. The bond was passed and construction began in mid-1916. By November 1916 water was available for household use and the water system capacity was 700,000 gallons per day.
The City of Lovelock was formed in 1917. From 1917 - 1918, a total of 72,981 lineal feet of 8-inch wood stave pipe was constructed to bring water from the canyons in the Humboldt Mountains along a high-grade line to a 1 million-gallon concrete storage tank. A total of 28,460 lineal feet of 12-inch wood stave pipe was used to transmit water from the storage tank to town. Sixty-nine air valves and blow-off valves of various diameters were installed. A 30,000-gallon elevated storage tank was completed in town. The in-town water distribution system consisted of: 9,800 lineal feet of 4-inch vitrified clay pipe, 15,700 lineal feet of 4-inch cast iron pipe, 1,800 lineal feet of 5-inch vitrified clay pipe, 8,100 lineal feet of 6-inch vitrified clay pipe, 4,000 lineal feet of 6-inch cast iron pipe, 1,300 lineal feet of 8-inch vitrified clay pipe, 490 lineal feet of 8-inch cast iron pipe, 46 gate valves of various diameters, 6 fire hydrants, and 225 corporation stops.
In 1920, water supply and fire suppression improvements were added to the City. Over 1,200 feet of 6-inch main and 1,080 feet of 4-inch main were laid. Fire hydrants were installed. A concrete dam and intake were constructed in Wright's Canyon to increase the City's water supply, and three groundwater wells were drilled to augment the supply.
For the next 60 years the area grew only slightly. Population estimates (and year) were as follows: 1,609 (1950); 1,948 (1960); 1,571 (1970); 2,144 (2001); and 2,267 (2002).
The Big Meadow Water Association (a.k.a., Lower Valley Water) was formed in the 1950s. It was formed to bring potable water to its users. Excess water was bought from the City and piped through the Association's distribution system. The association started with 47 connections and grew to 65 connections at the time of consolidation in 1979. Funding for the 25 miles of distribution piping was based upon an acreage assessment. The system was comprised of 5 miles of 8-inch AC pipe, 8 miles of 6-inch AC pipe, 10 miles of 4-inch pipe and 2 miles of 2-inch PVC pipe.
The Lovelock Meadows General Improvement District was formed in April 1979 as a result of a regional water system consolidation of the City of Lovelock, Big Meadow Water Association and Valley Water Association. At that time, it was reported that water system improvements were needed and the City of Lovelock was at its debt limit. Therefore, a General Improvement District was formed to increase the borrowing capacity for the regional water system. The Lovelock Meadows General Improvement District serves 1,144 connections in central Pershing County.
This project is made necessary by NAC 445A.66655 and requires the Lovelock Meadows Water District to provide "a safe and reliable supply of water to all of its customers in its area of service."
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Lovelock Meadows Water District applied for a grant under the AB 198 program for a water system project. A grant was approved by the Board for Financing Water Projects on October 19, 2004, for $2,400,322.11 (60.07% of the total eligible project cost of $3,995,875). The scope of the project is the replacement of pipes in downtown Lovelock and the area known as "lower valley." The project includes 14,300 feet of 6-inch PVC pipe, 80 6-inch gate valves, 24,000 feet of 8-inch PVC pipe, 50 8-inch gate valves, 15,000 feet of 12-inch PVC pipe, 14 12-inch gate valves, telemetry upgrades, 80 fire hydrant assemblies, and replacement of 85 water services.
Seven construction bids were received in August 2006. The apparent low bid was $4,190,662.88, approximately $993,962.88 higher than the original engineering estimate for construction. Of the $993,962.88, the USDA provided an additional $415,000 in loan funds and $173,000 in grant funds. The District was required to match the USDA's funding with $405,962.88 from their cash reserves to cover the difference in the construction cost so that the bid could be awarded; however, the District wished to use the $405,962.88 in cash reserves to cover ineligible project costs such as paving. In order to cover the difference in construction costs, the District requested $405,962.88 in additional grant funding for construction costs only. No increases were requested for engineering or contingency. On November 9, 2006, the Board approved an increase in construction grant funding of $405,962.88 making the total grant amount $2,806,284.99 or approximately 60% of estimated total eligible project costs of $4,989,837.88.
PROJECT STATUS
Water line replacement is currently underway. Maps of the progress are courtesy of Farr West Engineering. The Phase 1 waterline replacement south of Lovelock on South Meridian and Reservation roads and new water lines in the City of Lovelock were completed in June 2007.
Click on the drawing to enlarge - note that the enlarged drawing will open in a new window as a pdf file.
The following are photos of the construction activites southwest of Lovelock on S. Meridian.
Place your cursor over the photo for a brief summary of what your are seeing. Click on the photo to enlarge - note that the enlarged photo will open in a new window.
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