Council approves contract for water, sewer plant upgrades

By Kerry Lyman

The Fernley City Council approved three contracts at the Dec. 17 meeting with Shaw Engineering to prepare for upgrades to the city’s water and sewer treatment plants at a total cost of $223,300.

In early August, the city council heard a presentation from Keller Associates about deficiencies in the city’s 16-year-old water treatment facility. Those deficiencies included leaking caustic soda, a hazardous material that is used for pH adjustment, and the need for a second air receiver and a third air compressor for reliability.

It was reported the third air compressor also would be necessary to treat surface water from the Truckee Canal as the city plans to do in the future.

The first contract with Shaw Engineering for $74,250 is for the design, permitting, bid-phase support and construction management services for a compressed air system upgrade. A staff report on the item noted the compressed air system is a “critical component” supporting the microfiltration process and existing equipment has reached the end of its useful life.

The staff report also said the planned caustic soda and air system improvements would be needed in order to treat up to 30 million gallons of water daily as the city intends to do in summer months when surface water from the Truckee Canal is added to the city’s existing groundwater supply.

The second contract with Shaw Engineering for $115,300 is for the design, permitting, bid-phase support and construction management services for chemical system improvements to the city’s water treatment plant.

The staff report on this item indicated “the existing caustic soda, citric acid and sodium hypochlorite systems have experienced significant deterioration, including leaking glue-joint PVC piping, aging components and operational deficiencies.”

The project will improve treatment reliability, reduce safety risks, “and restore chemical feed system functionality consistent with Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) requirements,” according to the report.

The third Shaw Engineering contract for $33,750 is to prepare Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for upgrades to the East Wastewater Treatment Plant to address aging infrastructure, hydraulic limitations and regulatory requirements identified by the NDEP.

Specialized engineering assistance is needed to prepare the RFPs due to the technical complexity of a preliminary engineering report of the treatment plant’s issues, project phasing and regulatory components, and to help develop evaluation criteria and support the procurement process, according a staff report.