Recap of Wastewater Town Hall Discussion

Last night at the Smith Building in Boulder City, City Staff held a discussion that presented the two wastewater treatment options in greater depth. In March, the Council directed SNWA (Southern Nevada Water Authority) to do a larger feasibility study on options two and three which have been presented and examined in depth, which you can see both HERE and HERE. There was also ample time left for questions at the meeting, which was very well-attended by residents.

Option 2 – Direct Reuse

Option two is what is called the ‘Direct Reuse’ scenario, where the wastewater that is allowed to uselessly drain out in the desert be reused to water both the municipal and Boulder Creek golf courses along with Veterans Memorial Park and the Veterans Cemetery. Those four areas in town consume the city's largest amount of irrigation usage.

Currently, our wastewater is being treated to what is called ‘Grade C’ wastewater. This is insufficient to be put back into Lake Mead, nor is it at a level for reuse in irrigation. The plan would require that facilities be upgraded to treat the water to Grade A. Then it can be used to water almost every turf on the parks and golf courses other than the actual greens, which still require potable (drinking) water to maintain that specialized turf.

Currently, we are using potable water for all of that irrigation, and also, as of now, the city is in the process of working to comply with the lower conservation requirements set forth by the SNWA. So, this process would allow Boulder City to meet its demands for irrigation with this treated wastewater during most of the year, but in the hottest months would still need to be supplemented with potable water, and all of our current unused wastewater would be reused.

The SNWA would pay for $26 million of the costs to create this system, and the city would be left with a balance estimated to be about $6.1 million, plus annual operating costs. There will also be expenses for additional personnel training to monitor the final water mix at the end-user level.

Annual operating costs for the city (a.k.a., us) are estimated currently at about $1.7 million, but it should be noted that these are highly preliminary. The understanding is that part of the feasibility studies that have been ordered will allow city staff to have better visibility on what that will look like.

Option 3 – Recharge Well Flow Into Lake Mead

In this option, an existing filtration plant would be utilized down near the dam and Lake Mead which would treat the wastewater to Grade A+ and then release it into the Colorado River basin via Lake Mead. It would require the plant be upgraded and the rehabilitation of an existing 3.5-mile water pipeline that will bring the water from the existing evaporation pools into the recharge well.

The costs are estimated to be $39 million, and the SNWA has said they will pick up the entire tab. There would be the expenses to maintain the treatment plant ongoing and also the additional training investment for Boulder City staff at the plant to monitor the end use. Right now, that rough estimate on annual costs is also about $1.7 million.

In both projects, either two or three, there is also the possibility of taking an existing main raw water line that could be repurposed for potable drinking water. A redundancy we currently lack, which one could argue, would be smart indeed for us to have.

The motivation for this plan is in the water ‘credits’ that would be received for the State of Nevada by giving that water back into the overall Colorado River system, which again is one of the SNWA’s main motivations for the project.

Questions, Feedback and Concerns

It was a lively meeting, which was excellent to see, given the importance of the project. Both plans contain some key assumptions, namely that the city’s irrigation and overall water usage need to be reduced to accommodate our current forecasted climate and water usage goals. One observation was made that, in fact, neither of these plans is incentivizing water conservation. Remember, this is only about the wastewater and its reuse –  this is only the sewage and water that goes down the drain.

What also became clear is that there is a broad lack of understanding from the public about the differences between our drinking and wastewater and what can or cannot be done with it at the various treatment levels. Also of concern, naturally, is the potential impact on water/utility rates for our residents. Note that our businesses also pay substantially higher utility costs that help keep our residential rates low – something often not discussed often enough in our town.

The feasibility study itself was also questioned, given that the SNWA will be ordering and paying for it, but not much is known about the process itself. As to the status of that, we reached out to Joe Stubitz, the Utilities Director, and he told us, “The SNWA has started conversations with a consultant that is qualified to perform the work and is waiting to receive a scope and fee for services rendered. Once that scope and fee have been received and reviewed by SNWA, the consultant can be named publicly, and the SNWA Board will have it on their agenda for approval hopefully by the May Board meeting, or if not, then July.”

In option three, many residents resent that the water can then be accessed by others, especially communities downstream or in the Las Vegas Valley that continue to grow their populations despite a clear water shortage. It’s a popular view for certain. We purchase our water via the hydroelectric rates, which are cheaper than most of the valley. However, this is where the double-edged sword of our slow growth policies come into play. While we use well below our allotted amount in Boulder City, we are limited in what the impact of our per capita use will look like given the slow to very low change or increase in our population.

Another question we asked was about the life of the infrastructure that will be created to treat the wastewater. The SNWA may be paying for that this time around, but the long-term replacement costs will fall to us, certainly. The city tells us that any capital improvement plans will be factored into the existing rate structure just like any other city owned asset.

Give Your Feedback

While the meeting was not recorded, you can view information about the two options including last night’s PowerPoint HERE. Also, the city asks that all residents please familiarize themselves with the issues and provide feedback on this survey. Input will be gathered starting now until September 30, 2023. As to the rest, as things evolve, we will keep you posted.