Water woes: Aging wells, high demand pushes Carson City to rare Stage 2 water alert

It was the perfect storm - without the water

Carson City's Water Operations Manager Rit Palmer said the Stage 2 water alert declared last weekend was a convergence of high temperatures, the breakdown of two of the city's wells and the inability to access water from Marlette Lake.

It was only the second time Carson City has had to issue a Stage 2 alert. By Friday, the situation had somewhat improved and the water department issued only a Stage 1 alert for this weekend, asking residents to voluntarily cut back their irrigation by about 50 percent.

"With a moderate reduction in demand, we should be OK," Public Works Director Andy Burnham said Friday morning.

Burnham said the worst is probably over.

One of the wells that broke down last weekend is expected to be back in operation today or Monday, and the Marlette water system should be up and running by mid-August, he said.

And even though another well - a small

one on the east side of town - went out Thursday, the new arsenic treatment plant near Saliman Road and Fifth Street started production last week, supplying 600 gallons of water per minute.

Water quality compliance is assured through blending good water with water from wells with too much arsenic or uranium.

Residents cooperated with last weekend's alert and Monday is a "no-watering day," but all that changed on Tuesday with everyone trying to quench their thirsty lawns, Palmer said.

"Tuesday we set a record day, using 21 million gallons and we've been holding steady with that just about every day," Palmer said Saturday morning.

What went wrong?

Palmer said that well failure generally means the pump has gone out.

"Some are getting old, and like an old car, one day - boom - they just give out," he said.

Carson City has 35 wells operating in the summer, compared to only one during the winter. Each produces varying amounts for the system.

The two that went out prior to the Stage 2 alert were both on the west side where the downhill slope gives an extra boost to water pressure in the city's system.

"We're still on the edge," Burnham said. "All the wells are stressed right now because of the draw-down to the aquifer. If a well is capable of 1,000 gpm, it might only be be producing 600-700."

Palmer agreed.

"We were already maxed out over there, and when we lose a well, we don't have the ability to move water where it needs to go," Palmer said. "We're working on future boosting capacity."

There are also 16 storage tanks scattered on hills surrounding town. When people are watering lawns, they are basically draining the tanks. The Monday "no-watering" day allows the city to refill them to some extent.

Wells pump directly into the city's water system or into storage tanks.

Extreme temperatures

Palmer said the high temperatures also contributed to the water restrictions, but weren't entirely unexpected during this fourth year of drought.

"In the last couple of years, July 12-25 has been our peak, but we could have another one next month," Palmer said.

"You always know it's coming. With all the rain we had, we thought maybe this would be an easy summer, but the demand has been normal," he said.

Winter demand is around 5 million to 6 million gallons a day, but in the summer it jumps to about 27 million.

"All that is basically due to irrigation - people's lawns," he said.

Marlette Lake

Carson City buys its water from the state-owned system in the Sierra overlooking Lake Tahoe.

The improvement project at Marlette Lake that was initially planned to take two years ran over into a third, which meant the city did not have its usual resources in place when the wells went out last weekend.

Some blame the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for the holdup, but Carson City Supervisor Shelly Aldean, who also sits on the TRPA board, explained that because Marlette is in the Tahoe Basin, TRPA has to be involved.

"You can't move more than three cubic yards of dirt without a permit, and ground disturbance is allowed only between the first of May and Oct. 15, so that might have delayed construction," Aldean said.

Burnham said the delays were mostly due to weather and to some environmental restrictions, but also contract issues.

"We can't get up there sometimes until late June. We always anticipated two summers but as it turned out, it was three," Burnham said.

"They're putting the pump in the lake (this) week and we hope Marlette will be up and running by mid-August."

Improvements included replacing an old diesel engine, which was not environmentally friendly, Palmer said, with natural gas and an electric pump, big water lines and electronics that will allow the city to remotely control various adjustments.

Groundwater

What a good rain does not do is fill the aquifers.

"Rain moves fast into creeks and rivers and it's out of town in a day or two," Palmer said.

It takes two to three years for surface water to get down through the ground to the aquifer.

"It's workin' its way down," he said.

When there is a lot of snowmelt, the city artificially recharges the groundwater and helps keep it by storing excess in basins like Vicee Canyon.

"I just talked to (the United States Geological Survey) and our water tables are actually not bad," Palmer said.

Conservation efforts

One way Carson City conserves its potable water is by using its reclaimed water system to irrigate large areas of town.

Treated wastewater, or effluent, is piped from the sewer plant up to a reservoir in Brunswick Canyon for use during the summer months.

All the golf courses in the city are on the system, as well as Centennial Park and the prison farm, and several other locations are being worked on, Palmer said, including Mills Park.

Commercial exemptions apply when caretakers are on the premises watering in places like garden centers and home improvement stores. Additionally, some complexes apply for and receive approval for special irrigation plans.

Car washes use reclaimed water and further recycle it throughout the day.

Clyde Sawyers, manager of Prestige Car Wash on U.S. 50 East, said the system works well.

"We have three settling tanks on the premises and water is not wasted. Any city water we use is reclaimed," he explained.

Planning for the future

Several years ago, the city tied its water system with Lyon County's and is buying about 200 gpm right now.

"We buy from them, and they buy from us," when needed, Palmer said.

Earlier this month, the board of supervisors approved a plan for a regional water system between Carson City, Douglas County, Minden and the Indian Hills General Improvement District.

Carson City owns water rights within the Carson Valley. The system would supply those water rights to the capital city by way of a 24-inch pipeline from the Heybourne Road area and a 30-inch pipeline to run parallel to U.S. 395. Carson City's cost would be $5.7 million to be paid from the city's water fund.

"We don't have that," Burnham told the board, "so we will need to go through a rate increase and bond sale next year."

Water alerts

The city has not had to issue a Stage 3 alert, and last weekend's Stage 2 was only the second ever issued, Palmer said.

During a Stage 1, the city notifies what it calls its "big account users," including schools, the state and other city parks to stop irrigating.

At Stage 2, the public is notified to voluntarily cut back, and at Stage 3, it is mandatory to stop all outdoor watering.

"Rain takes us out of danger because people aren't irrigating, so sometimes we do a little rain dance," Palmer said.

A summer rain helps the city recharge its water tanks, because residents aren't draining them. The tanks, in turn, help maintain pressure throughout the city and provide reserves for fire protection, he said.