First phase of Carson City waste water treatment plant completed year ahead of schedule

Carson City officials on Wednesday celebrated the completion of the first phase of construction at the city’s waste water treatment plant.

The $30 million project at the Water Resource Reclamation Facility on 5th Street was recently completed under budget and a year ahead of schedule.

“I want to thank the Public Works staff and K.G. Walters (Construction) and Q&D Construction,” the contractors, said Mayor Bob Crowell. “We started in 2012 with a rate design for water and sewer. Those rates are in about their fifth year so the increases will stop. Those increases allowed us to fund the facility here.”

The rate increases let the city obtain a low-interest loan from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection.

“In true Carson City fashion the capital went above and beyond,” in its renovation of the plant, said Jim Lawrence, deputy director, Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Lawrence said initial testing shows nitrogen levels in the reclaimed water produced by the plant have dropped 75 percent, from 20 milligrams per liter to 5 mg/L.

The water is used irrigate several local golf courses as well as the farm adjacent to the Northern Nevada Correctional Center.

“Those lower concentrations will safeguard our groundwater,” said Lawrence.

Dave Backman, senior vice president, K.G. Walters, thanked staff and contractors involved in the project, including Soraya Cleveland, safety manager.

“We had no loss time incidents,” said Backman.

Nancy Woo, assistant water division director, EPA, also spoke, and all five Carson City supervisors were on hand for the ribbon cutting.

“I’m very excited it came in under budget and ahead of schedule. It is much needed infrastructure,” said Supervisor Karen Abowd after the event.

Supervisor Brad Bonkowski agreed.

“I want to thank the people of Carson City for being patient with this process,” he said.

The design of the next phase of the project is 60 percent complete and will go to bid in the spring with construction expected to start in the summer and last about 14 months.

The second phase will rehab the site’s clarifiers and cover the headwork and is expected to cost just under $10 million.