Lovelock Meadows Water District - Water System Improvement Project - Phase 2
BACKGROUND
 The City of Lovelock and Lovelock Meadows Water District (LMWD) are located along US Interstate 80 in south central Pershing County approximately 95 miles northeast of Reno.
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 (aka, 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.
Serving over 115 square miles, the LMWD service area is very large by rural Nevada standards. Groundwater in the Lovelock area is generally not suitable for domestic use, irrigation, or stock watering because of high concentrations of sulfate, chloride, nitrate, fluoride, and dissolved salts. Note that irrigation water is obtained from the Humboldt River system. Arsenic appears to be a groundwater concern as well in the immediate area of the City. LMWD supplies drinking water from two groundwater wells located at Oreana, approximately 15 miles northeast of Lovelock. Storage consists of two tanks: a 1.5 million-gallon tank and a 2.5 million-gallon tank. LMWD currently meets all storage requirements under NAC 445A.6674 - 445A.66755.
LMWD took a $400,000 loan in June 1999 from the USDA so that it could build a 2.5 million-gallon storage tank, construct a disinfection building, and install a gas chlorination station.
In June 2003, the Board for Financing Water Projects (Board) approved a grant for a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) for the Lovelock Meadows Water District in the amount of $40,950 (63% of the total eligible project cost of $65,000). The PER was finalized in the fall of 2004. The PER identified the most critical problem for the water system as the undersized cast iron pipe that exists within the city and Lower Valley. The pipe is over 80 years old and experiences significant leaks. Other problems identified included: dead end lines, partially buried or inoperable fire hydrants, negative system pressures, and numerous customers on one meter. During maximum day and peak hour conditions, the minimum residual pressures cannot be met. According to the water model, there appears to be a risk of negative pressures and, therefore, a risk for backflow and possible contamination of the water system. While fire flows are reasonable in Lovelock, they are virtually non-existent in the Lower Valley.
The Letter of Intent (LOI) for a construction project was approved by the Board on July 20, 2004, for a total eligible project cost of $3,995,875. The original construction grant for Phase I of the project was given to Lovelock Meadows in October 2004 in the amount of $2,400,322.11 (~60% of the total eligible project cost of $3,995,875). The grant scale was not used in this project as the LMWD had secured both loan and grant funding from the USDA for 40% of the total project cost. The original scope of the project was the replacement of the old undersized pipe (4-inch ductile iron) in downtown Lovelock and undersized pipe to the farms and ranches west of town, commonly known as the "Lower Valley."
An increase in construction grant funding for Phase I was approved by the Board on November 6, 2006. That increase in construction grant amount was $405,962.88 bringing the total grant to $2,806,284.99 (~60% of the total eligible project cost of $4,989,837.88). Phase I of the project was completed in August 2007. At the conclusion of the project, $192,025 was returned to the grant fund to be made available to other projects.
With the completion of Phase I, the majority of the cast iron pipe in the City was replaced with PVC pipe and now meets flow and pressure requirements. In addition, the LMWD has been able to increase system working pressures through two PRVs and effectively increase water pressure to the Lower Valley. A portion of the cast iron transmission pipe in Lower Valley was also replaced with larger diameter PVC pipe. Although it has only been four months since Phase I project completion, LMWD staff is reporting that the replacement of this pipe and its ability to handle normal operating pressures within the system has greatly increased their ability to schedule necessary maintenance instead of constantly addressing emergency leaks and has decreased the number of customer complaints due to low pressures. Although data are limited, the computed average water loss appears to have decreased from approximately 15.5% to 8%. This information is preliminary and subject to change as Phase 1 of the project was just completed in August 2007 and data collection is ongoing.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
LMWD provided a revised preliminary engineering report (PER) with their LOI for a Phase II construction project. Note that LMWD's sole focus is the procurement and distribution of water. Other utilities are managed by the City of Lovelock or other entities. Even with the completion of a large Phase I project, many water system problems still exist within the LMWD. One continuing critical issue with the system is the lack of adequate supply due to undersized cast iron pipe that exists in Upper Valley and Lower Valley and some parts of the City. Some of this pipe may be over 80 years old and experiences significant leaks. Other problems include dead end lines, inoperable fire hydrants, negative system pressures, and multiple customers on a single meter. Due to the apparent water loss experienced in the distribution system, it is the opinion of the Bureau of Safe Drinking Water (BSDW) that the proposed distribution pipeline replacement is made necessary by BSDW regulation - NAC 445A.800 to 445A.995, inclusive - and the Safe Drinking Water Act.
LMWD is currently served by two wells - Well 5 and Well 7 - located northeast of Lovelock in Oreana. With the increase in connections and subsequent water use, both wells are pumped more than 50% of an average day. According to information provided, the combined capacity of the existing wells is 1,770 gallons per minute (gpm), while the peak hour demand of the system is 1,730 gpm, maximum day demand is 1,530 gpm, and average day demand is 900 gpm. Based on the water system data presented to BSDW, the construction of a new well is made necessary by regulation (NAC 445A.6672 [3]) in order for the system to meet average day demand of the water system with the most productive well out of service.
LMWD does not have a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. The water system currently operates using simple telemetry via phone lines which are prone to service interruptions. The wells that provide water to the system are located approximately 15 miles from the City and adjustments must currently be done manually at the well sites. LMWD's backup generator - located at the well site - must be turned on manually in the event of a power outage. Data recording is not automated. These are just some of the issues that could be resolved with a SCADA system. The project cost estimate for a new well in Oreana includes funding for a SCADA system.
The Phase II project will provide the following benefits: reduce costly repairs due to leaks allowing more staff time for preventative maintenance; increase system pressures; eliminate additional dead-end lines; reduce the risk of negative pressures; increase fire flows and fire protection coverage; and an increase the total capacity of the system. LMWD created a long-term capital improvement plan for the water system subsequent to the LOI.
In December 2007, the Board approved a grant for a Phase 2 water distribution system project for the Lovelock Meadows Water District in the amount of $3,000,000 (approximately 41.76% of eligible project costs estimated to be $7,184,000). The match funding is provided by both the LMWD and the US Department of Agriculture - Rural Development.
PROJECT STATUS
The design for the new, back-up well is complete and bidding should occur in the spring 2009. In addition, the design for the second phase of pipeline replacement is nearing completion and that part of the project should be bid before June 2009.
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