Ratepayers in Moapa Valley are poised to save nearly $1.3 million following a meeting of the Moapa Valley Water District (MVWD) board on Oct. 4. The board approved a MVWD application for state funding to modernize its SCADA system and then greenlit a new maintenance technique for extending the life of costly arsenic treatment media.
In the first item on the agenda, the board approved a resolution allowing MVWD staff to formally apply for more than $1.2 million in state funding to replace the district’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system.
The SCADA system allows operators to remotely monitor, regulate and automate the vital infrastructure in the MVWD water system. The SCADA that is currently in use has become outdated and has been targeted for replacement before the current provider discontinues service to it.
MVWD general manager Joe Davis told the board he submitted an application to the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection for a $481,000 grant to help pay for part of the replacement. This would leave the remaining $785,000, which MVWD would have needed to borrow to make up the difference.
“When we presented that to the state Office of Finance, it was suggested that we apply for the remaining $785,000 through the State Revolving Loan Fund,” Davis explained. “Then that amount would be offered to us with principal forgiveness. So we basically would have the whole project paid for. It is a huge benefit to our ratepayers.”
Davis presented the board with draft language of a resolution that would authorize him to formally request the funding as proposed. MVWD board member Ryan Wheeler moved to approve the resolution language. The board passed the motion unanimously.
In the second item, the board ratified spending on a new technique that would extend the life of a filtration media used in the district’s arsenic treatment facilities. This technique, which would clean and revitalize the existing media, promises to save the district thousands of dollars in replacement costs, according to district staff.
MVWD assistant general manager Lon Dalley explained that recent water testing indicated the existing media needed replacement in some of the district’s treatment vessels to keep water quality in line with national standards. Dalley said such a replacement usually costs around $88,000 per vessel.
“But we have been in contact with a company called Blue Earth which has a system where they don’t have to replace the media,” Dalley said. “Instead, they can clean and rejuvenate the media that is in place. It is quite a bit cheaper than swapping it out completely. We can get two vessels done for $42,000 using this technique.”
Davis added that district staff had already been very effective at extending the media’s life cycle. “When they originally designed our arsenic treatment facility, we were only supposed to get 18-24 months out of the media before replacement would be needed,” Davis informed. “But the way we operate it, we are constantly monitoring it with water sampling and blending water through the system. We have been able to stretch that two-year time frame out to six. So we have gotten good use out of the media already. And with this technique, they say we will get another five to six years out of it.”
Dalley said that he had spoken to other water utilities who had hired Blue Earth to rejuvenate their media and had seen good results. Even so, staff decided to take a measured approach and start with only two vessels. For the other two, the district would use new media it already had in inventory. This would provide a basis for comparison to determine the success of the Blue Earth technique.
“This technique comes at a quarter of the cost of replacing the media,” Dalley concluded. “So if it works well, it will be a big savings to the district and to our ratepayers.”
Wheeler moved to ratify the expense. The board approved the motion with a unanimous vote.