Kingsbury General Improvement District Water System Improvement Project
BACKGROUND
Straddling the crest of the Sierra Nevada above magnificent Lake Tahoe, the service area of the Kingsbury General Improvement District (KGID) commands an eagle's eye view of both one of the world's largest and deepest alpine lakes - Lake Tahoe - and one of the country's largest ski resorts - Heavenly Valley. Just 200 miles east of San Francisco, at an elevation of 6,200 feet, Lake Tahoe is famous for the scenery that for so many years provided the backdrop for television's legendary series - Bonanza. Only steps from the slopes or moments from the turquoise waters of Lake Tahoe, the area around Kingsbury is a year round haven for outdoor recreation.
The principal, yet limited, water source is the lake itself. In 1992 the annual water demand without snowmaking was at 69% of lake water rights. KGID's lake intake is located approximately 634 feet from shore at a depth of approximately 60 feet. Water flows by gravity into a pumping station located on the lakeshore between Nevada Beach and the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. KGID uses Lake Tahoe as a surface water source under a waiver from filtration issued by the State of Nevada on December 11, 1991. Ozonation is the approved alternative treatment technique for KGID's lake water source. A small secondary source of KGID water is a well next to the District's Andria Drive water tank. The water is chlorinated before being pumped into the tank.
The planned capital improvements will replace leaking water lines that have reached their useful life, rehabilitate or replace water tanks with corroded interior coatings, and provide emergency power for water pumping. The projects will significantly reduce or eliminate existing threats to water quality and ensure a reliable supply of water. KGID is currently providing drinking water that meets all State and Federal standards.
Assembly Bill (AB) 237 enhanced the Capital Improvements Grant Program by adding water conservation projects to the list of projects that are eligible for grant assistance. One new provision is for the "measurement or metering of the use of water." Water meters are effective in both conserving water and managing the water utility. Residential connections in KGID are not metered nor are the significant number of residential units in the Lake Park Apartments and Tahoe Shores Mobile Home Park. All but one of the 104 commercial connections is metered. Nevada Administrative Code requires that KGID include in their grant application an estimate of the capital costs and plan for the installation of water meters on all service connections in the community water system.
A water conservation plan was approved by the Division of Water Planning on September 25, 1992. The water conservation plan of the Kingsbury General Improvement District included a goal for developing water rates that promote water conservation. In order to accomplish this goal, KGID was to establish a program to convert residential customers to water meters by December 31, 1993. At present, KGID has not attained this goal.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Kingsbury General Improvement District applied for a grant under the Capital Improvements Grant program for a water system improvement project. The grant was originally approved by the Board for Financing Water Projects (Board) on June 26, 2002, for $5,099,853.10 (61.9% of the total eligible project cost of $8,238,858). The scope of the project included the installation of approximately 386 water meters, replacement of water lines and transmission mains, installation of a new a water storage tank, and a pressure reduction valve station.
The KGID Phase 1 project was divide into the following elements:
- 2000-05 Waterlines in Pine Drive area
- 2000-06 Waterlines in Palisades Road area
- 2000-11 Construct storage tan T-10B
- 2000-12 Waterlines in Chimney Rock Road
- 2000-16 Waterlines in Foothills Estates area
- 2000-21 Waterlines in Bigler Court
- 2000-24 Waterlines in Palady-Perkins area
- 2000-28 Zone 2 transmission line-Kingsbury Grade
- 2000-31 Portion of transmission main-Zone 10
- 2002-38 Waterlines on Logging Road and Laurel Ln
- 2002-68 Cottonwood Drive inter-tie
- 2002-70 Replace PRV station on Highway 50
PROJECT STATUS
From 2003 to 2005, waterline replacement projects - Phase 1A, Phase 1B, and Phase 1C - were completed for a total of approximately $4,828,485 ($2,988,832 in grant funds). Phases 1A-C included project elements: 2000-05, 2000-06, 2000-12, 2000-16, 2002-68, and 2002-70. Due to rising costs, a scaled-back waterline replacement project - Phase 1D - was completed in the fall of 2006. This Phase of the project focused on project element 2000-28. The line replacements completed to-date resulted in significant reductions in leaks as demonstrated by the reduction in overall demand. KGID's annual water leaks were reduced from an average of 46 per year between 1997 and 2000 to 12 leaks in 2005.
The Phase 1 project was originally scheduled for design and construction over 3 years but was re-scheduled as 5 separate construction projects over 5 years, 2003 through 2007. Each project had its own permitting, bidding, inspection and construction management. This increased both engineering and construction costs, but became necessary for the following reasons: 1) Design was complicated by the District's many pressure zones and often confusing existing piping; 2) The permitting restrictions of both the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) limited alignment options and caused delays while new options are explored; 3) KGID does not have complete maps of its water system and the District's small staff was capable of providing design and construction support for only moderate size annual projects in addition to carrying out its regular day-to-day responsibilities; 4) Phase 1 required unexpected easements and utility agreements before permitting and construction could proceed; 5) Cost of waterline construction in 2005 was 40% higher than in 2004 and the cost of construction in 2006 is on average 30% higher than 2005; 6) Unrealistic Preliminary Engineering Report Cost Estimates for the Zone 2 Transmission main and Tank 10B.
In August 2006, KGID requested an increase in grant amount based on escalating costs in materials and construction and additional engineering necessary for changes to the original design. The overall scope of the project remained the same. The Board approved an increase in the original grant amount of $4,405,458.28. The total grant amount was not to exceed $9,505,311.39, (61.9% of eligible project costs estimated to be $15,355,915.00).
Note that project 2000-31 - Zone 10 transmission main replacement - originally called for the replacement of old 10-inch transite pipe that supposedly had a history of leaks and had reached the end of its useful life. To date, KGID has replaced approximately 500 feet of leaking steel Zone 10 waterline within State Route 207 roadway as part of this project. The remaining sections of water line within Project 2000-31 are transite and have never leaked. Water modeling by the design engineers indicates the transite line has remaining unused capacity. Given this new assessment, no further Zone 10 pipeline was replaced. Sections of water main on North Benjamin Drive and Andria Drive were next in priority and were replaced in place of the Zone 10 transmission line.
Phase 1E was completed during the summer construction seasons of 2007 and 2008 and included project elements: 2000-21, 2000-24, 2000-31, and 2002-38.
After easement negotiation with the US Forest Service and Heavenly Valley Ski Resort failed, the rocky outcrop site next to the existing Tank 10A was excavated and a new 1.3-million gallon, pre-stressed, concrete storage tank (project element 2000-11), the last remaining task in Phase 1 of the Kingsbury project, was constructed. The tank project was completed in November 2009, just 6 months after construction began.
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Construction of the new, replacement water mains
 View a chronology of the site work and tank construction Kingsbury GID - New Pre-Stressed, concrete storage tank, CLICK HERE ->  (Note that this is a very large file - ~10Mb)
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