The Fernley City Council approved the construction of a second water storage tank at the site of the existing Ricci Storage Tank at its April 15 meeting, a project Utilities Director Seong Kim described during a March 26 budget session as “the most significant project in the coming year.”
The new 1.58-million-gallon water storage tank will “increase system capacity, improve water pressure and reliability” and provide operational flexibility during emergencies, Kim said during the March 26 budget meeting.
In addition, construction of the new water tank, expected to be completed by the end of the year, will allow the city to rehabilitate the existing Ricci Tank 1, which was built in 1997, according to a staff report on the item.
Ricci Tank 1 is the main source of water for communities on the eastern end of Farm District Road, originally built to supply the golf course and the Desert Lakes subdivision, according to the staff report.
Increased development in the area has created the need for additional storage.
According to contracts approved on April 15, Resource Development Company will build Ricci Tank 2 at a cost of $3.39 million, with construction management provided by Shaw Engineering at a cost of $164,400.
At the March 26 budget session, Kim requested $4 million from the city’s water fund for construction of Ricci Tank 2 next fiscal year. However, funding for Ricci Tank 2 had already been allocated this fiscal year, allowing for construction to begin. However, Utilities Engineer Aaron Smith said because construction will extend into the next fiscal year, the funding must also carry forward.
During the March 26 budget hearing, Councilman Albert Torres said that during a recent trip he and Mayor Neal McIntyre made to Washington, D.C. to seek funding for local utility projects, Congressman Mark Amodei’s office had said they would seek federal funds to support the project.
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