Town of Tonopah Water System Improvement Project
BACKGROUND
Tonopah is an unincorporated town in south central Nevada that was established in 1901. The Town is at the intersection of US Routes 6 and 95, approximately 240 miles southeast of Reno and 210 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It has been the seat of Nye County Government since 1907.
In May 1900, Jim Butler went prospecting in the naked hills that poke up out of the desert floor at the south end of Big Smoky Valley. When his burro eluded him, Butler angrily picked up a rock to throw after it - and found it was fine-grained quartz. An assay showed 395 ounces of silver and 15-1/2 ounces of gold to the ton, and the first great mining camp of the 20th century was born. In two years Tonopah (Paiute for: "Little bit of wood, not much water") had become a sturdy settlement of 3,000 people provided for by stock exchanges, newspapers, stagecoach lines, churches, and 30 saloons. Tonopah today has a historical museum offering fascinating displays and a Mining Park which includes three of the original mines. The past is not forgotten and residents anticipate a lively future.
The Tonopah water system dates back to the founding of the town and has been publicly owned since the 1930s. The system derives its water from the Rye Patch wellfield, located 13 miles northeast of Tonopah. The water is first stored at Rye Patch and then pumped to town. Distribution in town is accomplished through three pressure zones, with separate booster pump stations for the upper two zones. Gravity storage is provided on all zones with an original total of 15 storage tanks in the system. Most of the tanks were old and in need of repair.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Town of Tonopah applied for a grant under the AB 198 program to assist with a water system improvement project. The grant was approved by the Board for Financing Water Projects on August 29, 2001, for $2,809,409.66 (72.1% of the total eligible project costs). The original project scope was to demolish nine existing tanks that were seismically unstable and unanchored and install three new water storage tanks, repair four other existing storage tanks, and complete distribution system and telemetry improvements.
In March 2002, the Board approved a change of scope (including constructing an additional new tank at the Cody site instead of refurbishing the Mizpah tank, alterations to the original distribution system plan, and upgrades to the electrical service of the system) and an increase in grant funding to $3,106,047.82.
In March 2004, due to numerous issues with the refurbishment of the Butler and Ararat #1 tanks, the Town requested additional funding to replace rather than refurbish Ararat Tank #2. The Board approved a change of scope (to replace rather than refurbish Ararat Tank #2) and increased the grant funding to $3,231,654.79.
Due to increases in steel costs, the bids for the new Ararat Tank #2 came in significantly higher than the engineering estimate and the Town requested additional grant funds in April 2005. At the April 2005 meeting, the Board approved a final an increase in the grant amount to $3,276,984.06 (72.1% of the total eligible project cost of $4,565,526.02).
PROJECT STATUS
This project is complete.
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