The wastewater treatment plant in Stead will soon undergo expansion to double its volume to accommodate growth in the North Valleys.
Reno City Council members on Wednesday approved a $55 million contract with KG Walters Construction Co. Inc. for the expansion of the Reno Stead Water Reclamation Facility. Its current capacity is 2 million gallons per day.
General obligation sewer bonds were issued by the city in August 2019 to finance the project, which would bring its capacity to 4 million gallons per day average annual flow. Funds were made available through the Nevada Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund.
The buildout includes two new aeration basins, new blowers, two secondary clarifiers, a new return activated sludge pump station, and a new scrum pump station. Also planned are new tertiary filtration, new disinfection processes, new reuse storage tank, new stormwater retention basin, and the addition of new grit pumps at the headworks, along with other related improvements.
Effluent would be going to the aquifer storage area off American Flat Road north of Reno, city public works director John Flansberg said.
“We would build the A+ treatment, then we would do the direct injection into the aquifer, then we’d pull that water out for reuse options initially,” Flansberg said. “One of the great reuse options we’d have right off the bat would be the American Flat farm.”
A+ reclaimed water refers to wastewater that has undergone secondary treatment.
The economic downturn in 2008 put the plant’s expansion on hold.
“Now, in 2020, the plant is operating near its capacity,” a report to council members said. “The published RSWRF sewer allocation list shows that without the flow shave project, there would be 16,000 gallons per day of uncommitted remaining capacity. Currently only 75,000 gallons of the 500,000 gallon per day flow shaved are allocated for new customers.”
Current flow projections out of Reno-Stead demonstrate a need to treat 3 million gallons per day by 2026, and 4 million gallons per day by 2035.
