Indian Hills pipeline decision delayed a month

It will be another month before Indian Hills trustees have the information they need to decide whether a pipeline from Minden is the lifeline they're looking for to cure their arsenic problem.

A last-minute question about a less expensive form of water treatment delayed the presentation of a report on options the general improvement district has to reduce the concentration of arsenic in their water. The district is officially out of compliance with federal regulations.

District General Manager Jim Taylor said he was leaning toward recommending a pipeline, but without the additional information felt it was premature to make a presentation.

"I'm not 100 percent for the pipeline, but I'm 80 percent for the pipeline and 20 percent don't know what to do," Taylor said.

District Engineer Brian Randall said the district has three options for reducing the amount of arsenic in its water, two which require a treatment plant.

"You're lucky to have more than one," Randall pointed out.

The option the district was pursuing before the possibility of a pipeline materialized was to build a microfiltration plant to remove the arsenic. The plant would cost the district an estimated $4 million to construct and as much as $100,000 a year to maintain.

The district originally explored a much cheaper treatment alternative called coagulation filtration, in which material clumps with the arsenic and makes it easier to filter out.

That option costs $2 million, but was determined early on not to work with the district's water.

The consultant working on the project originally tested water that had been through the district's ozone plant.

He recently learned that the ozone might affect the test and suggested Taylor retest the water to see if the less expensive option will work.

Even if it is viable, the question remains whether a pipeline isn't a better long term solution.

County Public Works Director Carl Ruschmeyer told board members that when a pipeline between Minden and the county's east Valley water customers was completed, he shut off the wells.

He said water from Minden is costing 60 cents per 1,000 gallons, but that if there were more customers on the line, economies of scale would kick in to possibly reduce the price.

Estimates on construction of a 36-inch pipeline between where the East Valley line stops and Carson City are $18 million-20 million. Indian Hills would be expected to come up with 20 percent if it participated in the pipeline.

The pipeline may go through without Indian Hills participation to serve the land on the east side of Highway 395 and connect Minden to Carson City.

According to Ruschmeyer, the pipeline will follow the old Virginia & Truckee railway easement. He said the 24-inch line that had been built for the East Valley connection will be too small for future use. However, the county plans to build a 30-inch line to provide more water.