Carson City water may get piped to Mound House

A two-mile water pipeline tying Carson City and Mound House together could ultimately be the key link to get water from the Carson Range as far as Stagecoach.

Now, no water gets piped out of Carson City, and Stagecoach gets its water from wells.

Long-range regional water planning, however, envisions a continual water line reaching from the Marlette Reservoir above Carson City all the way to Stagecoach.

A feasibility study already proposes building a pipeline from Carson City to Mound House. A more conceptual idea suggest extending the waterline from Dayton to Stagecoach.

Planning out for 50 years, the Carson Water Subconservancy District has evaluated the water demands that could be expected in each county along the Carson River. Studies show that growth could exceed water supplies now tapped in Lyon County by about 2020 or 2030 and in Carson City by 2050.

From that evaluation, the district identified four projects to better use the river watershed to supply Carson City, Lyon and Douglas counties.

"We look at where the gaps are," said Ed James, the subconservancy's general manager. "We're filling the gaps in."

In the future, these projects involve piping water from Carson City to Douglas County, maximizing usage of water available from the Marlette and Hobart reservoirs, and piping water to Stagecoach.

First in line is a 13,000-linear-foot pipeline from Arrowhead Drive along Highway 50 East to Red Rock Drive in Mound House - the first Carson City water line to cross into another county.

Stripping away county and state lines to deal with regional water issues is a primary function for the subconservancy, whose board has elected officials from Douglas, Carson City, Lyon and Churchill. But the district has no regulatory authority. Any implementation of ideas must go through individual counties.

James will present a study possibly on Sept. 21 to the Carson City Board of Supervisors describing the feasibility of building a 12- or 16- inch water line from Carson City to Mound House. He made a similar presentation a month ago to the Lyon County Commission.

This $1.3 million to $1.7 million pipeline could be built in one to five years, depending on how fast financing is arranged. This could be a mix of grants and money from Carson City and Lyon County, James said.

Carson City and Lyon County each stand to gain from a shared water source.

For Mound House, Carson City water provides a more reliable water source than the patchwork of old, private water systems that supplies the community.

Lyon County took over the Mound House water system in May 1994 and installed a 10-inch connector line in January 1996 to improve the water pressure and supply in Mound House. The Dayton line now supplies 60 percent of Mound House's water with the rest coming from eight wells in Mound House and American Flat.

"The distance from Dayton to Mound House is greater than from Carson City," James said. "And the vertical lift from Dayton is greater. We're trying to overcome that."

The feasibility study says at a minimum the proposed Carson pipeline connection will have the capacity to replace the Dayton supply, which becomes critical in summer. By eliminating the need to export water from Dayton, the pipeline connection will also provide additional resources for Dayton and the surrounding area.

Mound House has enough water for normal usage but the town has no backup system and a pipeline from Carson City would improve fire flow, said Mark Clarkson, manager at Lyon County Utilities.

The Carson connection will become crucial as he region grows, he said.

"When we project growth, it's going to be needed," Clarkson said. "It's good to have it in place. The benefit to everybody could come very quickly, in five or seven years."

For Carson City, a pipeline to Mound House would extend the city's water system to the easternmost section of Highway 50 East. Beyond Arrowhead, those properties are served by individual wells.

"We're looking at a very big picture," said Tom Hoffert, the city's utilities operation manager. "We're looking long term, where the region will be going. The biggest benefit for us is it brings lines and water flow to a weak link in Carson City where we don't have water now. This bridges that gap and it gives us more reliability for emergencies."

Hoffert said water lines also would make Highway 50 East east of Arrowhead more attractive to commercial development.

Piping water to Lyon County would not affect Carson City's water supply nor count against Carson City's water rights, Hoffert said.

On paper, any water going to Mound House would be additional water drawn from the Marlette-Hobart reservoirs above Carson City.

In reality, the water would be drawn from a city well nearest to Mound House. Carson City would draw an equal amount from Marlette-Hobart to replenish the city's supply, Hoffert said.

Hoffert looks forward to pumping as much water as he can through the Quill Ranch treatment plant at the mouth of Ash and Kings canyons. He is in the process of gaining state approval to double the amount of water Quill Ranch may treat.

Quill Ranch has abundant capacity to produce more water than Carson City needs now.

"This will maximize the efficiency of Quill Ranch and lower the cost of treating water," Hoffert said.