Washoe to unveil water conservation plan

Monday, Nov. 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The plan, scheduled to be unveiled at a public hearing Wednesday night, carries a bottom line of $163 million for new treatment facilities, more miserly toilets and shower heads and limited installation of water meters.

The plan has been in the works for 14 months and still faces numerous public hearings and possible revisions before becoming the water bible for local elected officials.

New development will pay much of the costs with water- and sewer-service hookup fees, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported on Sunday.

"Existing ratepayers would only be charged to increase the efficiency of their existing service or to replace equipment when it wears out," said Steve Walker, county water management planner.

A cost breakdown based on water and sewer providers is due out next month.

The new water plan will have a public hearing before the water planning commission on Wednesday.

After that, it goes to the Washoe County Board of Commissioners, the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Commission, and Reno and Sparks city councils for public discussion and a vote. The final document goes to the 1997 Nevada Legislature for approval.

The plan encourages residents to lower their water use from 260 gallons a day per person to about 230 gallons a day by retrofitting older homes with water meters, low-flow toilets and low-flow shower heads; and encouraging hotel guests to forego having their sheets and towels changed every day.

Any savings from current levels would be stored in Sierra reservoirs as a cushion during droughts. Conservation also would ease the need for new water or sewage treatment facilities over the next 14 years.