The City of Fernley has confirmed that approximately 100,000 gallons of untreated wastewater escaped the East Lift Station Friday, Sept. 11, crossed an adjacent parcel of land and traveled along a railroad embankment, contradicting an earlier public characterization that the spill had been contained.
Another estimated 100,000 gallons accumulated in the basement of the lift station, bringing the total involved in the incident to approximately 200,000 gallons, according to a city statement released Tuesday.
Nevada Division of Environmental Protection Environmental Assistance and Certification Program Coordinator Zachary Lamebull provided the incident report filed by Ozzie Henke, the City of Fernley Utilities Director, which confirms the 200,000-gallon estimate was reported by the City of Fernley at 8:43 a.m. Friday morning.
The city press release said Q&D Construction notified the City at approximately 6 a.m. Friday that water was coming out of the East Lift Station and traveling south onto neighboring property.
“Wastewater flowed out past the building onto a vacant lot south and down the east side of the rail spur, causing some erosion along the access road and spur line,” the release said.
Photographs taken after the spill show a deep erosion channel cut alongside the railroad embankment, with displaced rock and soil extending away from the lift station.
The city said emergency bypass pumping was fully operational by 2:30 p.m. Friday, restoring normal flow from the collection system to the wastewater treatment plant. Water trucks carrying chlorinated water were used to treat exposed soil.
The city’s account clarifies that the wastewater was not contained within the lift-station property.
In a comment posted Saturday in response to The Reporter’s original story, City Councilman Albert Torres wrote that the incident involved an underground structural break.
“It was contained, and is being cleaned up,” Torres wrote. “The City and the State will do inspections and will make sure everything is cleaned up, decontaminated and the property owner is made whole.”
The city’s Tuesday statement acknowledges that approximately half of the estimated wastewater left the facility, crossed neighboring property and caused erosion along the railroad infrastructure.
The city did not officially respond to several requests for information regarding the spill until Tuesday when they release the detailed public statement four days after the failure.
An internal report prepared Friday by Chief Operating Officer Barry Williams for the mayor and City Council described the incident as a “catastrophic failure” involving critical city infrastructure.
The report said wastewater accumulated in the lift-station basement and caused erosion to portions of the embankment supporting a rail spur owned by Mark IV Capital. It said Premier Construction had been retained to inspect the embankment, determine the extent of the damage and perform repairs.
The internal report did not provide a spill estimate, identify the lift station by name or address the possible effect on nearby municipal wells.
It also differs from Tuesday’s release concerning how the problem was discovered. The internal report says city staff identified the failure, while the public release says Q&D notified the city at approximately 6 a.m.
The internal report said the city notified its insurance carrier immediately and initiated a claim. Potential costs include emergency contractors, bypass pumping, cleanup, equipment repair or replacement and stabilization of the railroad embankment. No cost estimate has been released.
The cause remains unknown. The basement must be emptied before pumps, motors, electrical systems, controls, instrumentation and structural components can be inspected, according to the internal report.
The city anticipated completing removal of wastewater from the basement Tuesday. It said an engineer and licensed cleanup team would then inspect the building, clean the facility and collect soil samples. Any soil found to be contaminated would be removed and disposed of.
The East Lift Station sits near municipal Wells 9 and 9A, and the city notice said neither well was affected by the failure and stated that there was “no threat to the public.” It also said both wells would be monitored and sampled “in an abundance of caution.”
The release does not say whether either well was taken out of service, when samples would be collected, what contaminants would be tested or whether results were available before the city concluded the wells were unaffected.
The city said water from both wells is chlorinated before being sent to the Water Treatment Plant, where it is treated again before entering the potable-water system.
The city also said the NDEP and its Bureau of Water Pollution Control were notified within an hour of the failure. It has not released the time of that notification or the initial report submitted to regulators.
City records identify Nathan McIntyre as Fernley’s wastewater systems foreman. McIntyre is the son of Mayor Neal McIntyre and prepares the wastewater division’s monthly operational reports. A report dated Jan. 5 stated that daily rounds and inspections of the East Lift Station were completed during December 2025.
The city has not said when the station was last inspected before Friday’s failure, whether earlier inspections identified structural or mechanical concerns, or what maintenance had been performed on the failed equipment.
The City Council adopted a new Sewer Master Plan in August identifying approximately $7.61 million in existing maintenance and repair needs. The listed projects included a $2.97 million East Lift Station and force-main project.
The city’s internal report says a later update will identify the confirmed cause, damage, repair plan, costs, insurance coverage, restoration timeline and any corrective improvements recommended to prevent another failure.
The Fernley Reporter will update this story when NDEP provides its response concerning Wells 9 and 9A and when sampling results and additional incident records become available.
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