Standing above the intersection of Amber Way and Coyote Road, you can look over the upscale homes that dot the East Valley hillside.
It's quiet and peaceful, and the neighbors hope the addition of a proposed 2.5 million-gallon water tank on the Bureau of Land Management property won't change that.
Property owners in the area expressed their concerns at a meeting March 24 with the Town of Minden. A second meeting is set 6 p.m. Monday at the CVIC Hall.
The water tank is an integral part of a $21 million regional project to provide wholesale water service and safe drinking water from Minden to north Douglas County and Carson City.
Construction of the $2 million tank is to begin late this summer with completion by next spring.
The tank will be connected to the Minden water system by a 30-inch water line along portions of Buckeye Road, East Valley Road and Amber Way.
The tank will have 1.2 million gallons dedicated to fire protection storage and emergency reserves.
Town officials have prepared an information sheet with answers to about a dozen questions residents raised at the March meeting.
"People were concerned about the aesthetics and the benefits of the line," said Town Manager Roger Van Alyne. "A lot of people bought in the county to be independent and not be on the water system."
He's getting inquiries now whether residents can tie into the nearly 13,000 linear feet of pipe being installed along Buckeye Road, East Valley Road, Amber Way, and the cross-county road to the proposed water tank.
The answer is yes.
If the connection is made during construction of the main water line, the fee is $4,560 for a three-quarter-inch line and $5,215 for a 1-inch line. That includes the connection to the main line, lateral to the meter box, meter, pressure regulator, and meter box, and is installed as part of the main water line construction.
After the main water line is completed, the homeowner will pay the connection fees, plus the cost of a contractor to connect to the main water line, and install the lateral, meter, pressure regulator, and meter box.
In either case, connection from the meter box to the house will be installed and paid by the homeowner.
Van Alyne said homeowners were concerned about property values, the access road and the town's plan in the event of a "catastrophic failure."
The town manager said Minden will develop an emergency action plan. Based on history, the most likely failure would be a crack in the side of the tank. If that occurred, leakage would travel west from the tank into an existing drainage easement.
Neighbors wanted to know about alternative sites.
"They're very much concerned with the visuals," he said.
Van Alyne said the town had three criteria: Compatible with the water system pressure zone requirements, minimal visual impacts and improved ability to link with other water systems.
"This location met all three criteria. The site provides adequate elevation for pressure zones. The town can partially 'bury' the proposed water tank to minimize visual impacts. The town chose a concrete structure because concrete tanks can be installed in subsurface conditions. The East Valley area is a logical area to link with other systems," he said in an information sheet for residents.
Since the site is on BLM land, the federal government dictates the visuals: The tank will be dun-colored without landscaping.
"This is the closest and least expensive location available to site a gravity tank in Minden's system," Van Alyne said.
FAST FACTS
Minden water tank
Capacity: 2.5 million gallons
Size: 45-feet tall (30-foot water depth, 12-foot dome), 121-feet diameter
Base elevation: 5,044 feet
Estimated cost: $2 million
Construction type: Pre-stressed concrete
Construction schedule: Bidding, summer 2010; construction, summer/fall 2010-spring 2011
Access: 12-foot nonpaved road from the intersection of Amber Way and Coyote Road southeasterly to the proposed water tank.
DETAILS
Meeting on proposed Minden water tank, 6 p.m. Monday, CVIC Hall, 1602 Esmeralda Ave. Information, 782-5976.
