Washoe County Spanish Springs Septic to Community Sewer Project
BACKGROUND
Spanish Springs is located approximately 8 miles north of Sparks, Nevada. Prior to 1980, Spanish Springs contained only 141 homes. Between 1980 and 2000, 2,895 homes were built in the Spanish Springs area. Many of the homes were built on one-third acre lots and used individual sewage disposal systems - septic tanks and leach fields - for sewage disposal. In 1995, nitrates were detected in a public water supply well. In 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey performed an extensive study as to the source of the nitrates and concluded that is was from septic tanks. Part of the basis for that conclusion was the detection of caffeine and heart medication in the groundwater. On April 7, 2000, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) issued a letter to Washoe County directing the County to correct the problem.
After receiving the letter from the NDEP, Washoe County prepared the "Spanish Springs Nitrate Occurrence Facility Plan" to identify the appropriate course of action to address the public health and environmental threat caused by the elevated nitrates. After 40 public meetings the Washoe County Board of County Commissioners adopted a plan in August 2002 that called for the 2000 homes to connect to a community sewer system. The estimated cost for the 2,000 homes to connect to the community sewer was $40 million or $20,000 per home.
In the 2003 Nevada legislative session, State Senator Maurice Washington and Assemblyman John Marvel sponsored Senate Bill 200, which was approved and enacted into law. Senate Bill 200 authorizes grants to pay for certain costs associated with abandoning a septic tank and connecting the property formerly served by a septic tank to a community sewer system, if the NDEP requires such a conversion. The bill also increases by $4,000,000 the amount of general obligation bonds the State Board of Finance may issue to support the Fund for Grants for Water Conservation and Capital Improvements to certain water systems. The intent of the bill was to provide $2,000 per home to convert the 2,000 homes in Spanish Springs Valley to a community sewer system.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
 Washoe County Department of Water Resources applied for a grant under the SB 200 program for a Spanish Springs septic to community sewer project. The grant was approved by the Board for Financing Water Projects on January 27, 2005, for an amount not to exceed $2,000 per home connected to the community sewer or $4,000,000 (total estimated project cost of $36,099,500). This project is anticipated to take some ten years to complete.
PROJECT STATUS
The project cound not start until the collection system was constructed in front of the homes. Construction of the collection system for Phase 1a started in January 2006. Once the sewer main was available, individual homes started to connect to the system. The map below shows the current status of completed connections to-date. Future phases for this project are dependent upon other funding for construction of the sewer collection system which is not funded through the AB198 program.
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