Sparks City Council Meeting 7/13/2015 2:00:00 PM

    Monday, July 13, 2015 2:00 PM
    City Council Chambers, Legislative Bldg, 745 Fourth St., Sparks

Consent Items: 8.4

Title: Consideration and possible approval of an agreement with Applied Soil Water Technologies for a hydro-geologic investigation for a proposed Rapid Infiltration Basin for the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility in the amount of $105,550, with the City of Sparks’ share $33,111.04.
Petitioner/Presenter: Neil C. Krutz, P.E. – Deputy City Manager/Michael Drinkwater, P.E. – Treatment Plant Manager
Recommendation: Staff recommends that Council approve an agreement with Applied Soil Water Technologies for a hydro-geologic investigation for a proposed Rapid Infiltration Basin for the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility in the amount of $105,550, with the City of Sparks’ share $33,111.04.
Financial Impact: There is no impact to the General Fund. $1,007,704.00 of appropriations have been set aside in the FY 15-16 budget for engineering professional services. Expenses will be charged to TMWRF, Fund 5605, Account 604020, Capital Project Professional Services using Program 131500, TMWRF Administration, Subprogram 131500-102, TMWRF Rapid Infiltration Basin (RIB). Following quarterly reconciliation of TMWRF’s operating expenses between the Cities of Sparks and Reno, affecting the Sanitary Sewer Capital Project Fund (1631), Sparks expects a reimbursement from the City of Reno based on the current ownership of TMWRF as outlined in Attachment 1 and supported in the inter-local agreement for the operations of the facility.
Total Costs: $105,550.00
Fund: Joint Treatment Plant    Account: 604020
Program: TMWRF Administration (131500)
Amount: $105,550.00    Budget Status: Budget Exists
Business Impact (Per NRS 237):
     A Business Impact Statement is not required because this is not a rule.
Agenda Item Brief:

City staff is asking the City Council to approve the agreement with Applied Soil Water Technologies for a hydro-geologic investigation for the proposed Rapid Infiltration Basin.



Background:

The Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility treats the majority of the municipal wastewater for the Truckee Meadows and all of the wastewater for the City of Sparks.  The facility is regulated on 20 different discharge limits for the treatment plant effluent that is returned to the Truckee River.  Currently the most restrictive limitation is Total Nitrogen.  Total nitrogen is composed of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and organic nitrogen, both particulate and dissolved.  The treatment plant does not currently remove the dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and it is this fraction that comprises the majority of the nitrogen in the plant’s effluent.  TMWRF is allocated 500 lbs/day of TN discharged to the Truckee River, an amount established by the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process in 1994.



Analysis:

The TMDL restriction only applies to water discharged to the Truckee River.  The proposed Rapid Infiltration Basin will serve as an alternative disposal, allowing the treatment plant to divert some of the effluent away from the Truckee with a corresponding reduction in the total amount of nitrogen discharged.  This alternative discharge can be used during periods when the nitrogen level in the effluent is above average, further minimizing the impact to the river.  If higher priority discharges are available, such as effluent irrigation of parks or sports fields, the discharge to the RIB can be reduced or eliminated without adverse impact.

The proposed investigation will establish the quantity of water that can be applied to the proposed site without groundwater mounding and will help establish a direction of groundwater flow to estimate down-gradient impacts.  This proposed project is in support of City of Sparks’ strategic goal 3.2, “Identify long-term wastewater nutrient removal technologies and plan for their implementation in the FY 16-21 TMWRF CIP”.



Alternatives:
  1. The City Council could approve the agreement as presented by staff
  2. The City Council could reject the agreement and provide direction to the City Manager


Recommended Motion:

I move to approve the agreement with Applied Soil Water Technologies as presented by staff.



Attached Files:
     Attachment 1.pdf
     Applied Soil Water Technologies.pdf
     Applied Soil Contract - RIB Field Investigation.pdf
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