Mound House residents could get lower water rates

Higher rates for water in Mound House could be washed away if the Lyon County Commission decides to do away with the separate Mound House Water Fund.

The commission will consider a resolution Thursday dissolving the fund and transferring all assets, liabilities, equity and service to the Dayton Water Fund, effective Jan. 1, 2009.

According to Lyon Utilities Director Mike Workman, the Mound House and Dayton water systems have been interconnected and now operate as one system.

In addition, the Carson City Intertie on the water system that is being constructed has eliminated the need for many capital improvements that had been planned for Mound House.

Workman said two U.S. Department of Agriculture loans were paid off early by the county, and with the connected systems, there is no longer a reason to treat them differently.

The dissolution would mean that Mound House residents, who now pay a monthly base rate of $46.37 for 5,000 gallons of water a month, with an additional cost of $5.26 per thousand gallons over that, would pay Dayton rates.

Dayton residents pay $20.54 for up to 5,000 gallons a month with a $2.53 per thousand gallons overage rate.

Lyon County Comptroller Josh Foli said because Dayton's budget did not include the Mound House system, the commissioners will be asked to augment Dayton's budget to include the Mound House fund.

Workman said Lyon County took over the Mound House water system from a private company in 1994, after the company ran into operating problems and wells failed, leaving the community without water.

He said grants from USDA had made repairs possible, but they required rates to be set high so that the loans could be repaid.

Now that the loans are repaid, and more expensive equipment is rendered unnecessary by the Carson-Dayton water main being installed, rates can be reduced, he said.

"It was a fairly small enterprise fund, with only 910 connections," he said. "The user base was small and they had to bear the burden of the entire debt service."

- Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or call 881-7351.