Nevada County Grand Jury
• 2004-2005
Tahoe Truckee Sanitation Agency Wastewater Treatment Inquiry Reason for Investigation
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 12 findings
F1
TTSA is currently capable of transporting, treating, and disposing of a maximum 7-day average municipal wastewater flow, during summer months, of 7.4 million gallons per day (mgd).
No recommendations for this finding
F2
The Board Order has revised previous waste discharge requirements to permit an increase in wastewater treatment capacity and a change in treatment methods for nitrogen removal, and to modify the monitoring and reporting program in response to these changes. Key requirements include decreasing the total load of nitrogen, dissolved solids, and chlorides discharged into the Truckee River.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The TTSA Board of Directors should maintain a dialog with the LRB in order to become proactive regarding changes to wastewater discharge requirements and become a part of the process to set future discharge requirements.
F3
To meet the new wastewater discharge requirements, the TTSA facility will be expanded to include numerous replacement, upgraded, modified and additional components and units to provide additional capacity and improve treatment. The expansion will provide the capability to transport, treat and dispose of a maximum 7-day average flow during summer months of 9.6 mgd.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
The expansion will replace the existing ion-exchange nitrogen removal system with a more advanced Biological Nitrogen Removal system for the full 9.6 mgd capacity.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
The expansion will also incorporate enlargement of and improvements to the Truckee River Interceptor1.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
The wastewater treatment plant expansion and upgrades are expected to cost between $65 - $75 million and will be funded using a combination of TTSA reserves, a $53 million State Revolving Fund Loan, and an $11.6 million grant from the Department of Water Resources.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
The Construction Milestone Schedule is shown in the following table. TTSA indicates construction is on schedule. The Truckee River Interceptor is a 17-mile collection pipeline that runs from Tahoe City to the TTSA Treatment Plant. Task Date Notice of Award November 19, 2003 Notice to Proceed December 10, 2003 Substantial Completion • BNR Superstructure May 1, 2004 • 365 Day Milestone Solids Handling Bldg - 1st new system, December 9, 2004 Digester, Stripper Basin • 455 Day Milestone March 9, 2005 Solids Handling Bldg - 2nd new system •730 Day Milestone December 9, 2005 Operation of BNR system & Solid Dewatering Facility • 912 Day Milestone June 9, 2006 Mainstream Process Improvements Final Completion •1,000 Day Milestone September 5, 2006 Construction Milestone Schedule provided by TTSA. Each milestone event identifies a list of construction tasks.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
TTSA does not anticipate an increase in service charge rates because of the wastewater treatment plant expansion. Correspondence from TTSA indicates about one-third of the expansion will serve current users by means of improvements to the current facility. TTSA breaks down the processes that serve current users and those which serve only future users. Reserves funded by service charges and taxes are used to pay for portions of the construction project that are only upgrades to the current facility benefiting current users. Reserves funded by connection charges are used to pay for the portion of the construction project that increase the capacity of the plant and benefit new development.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
The current residential service charge rate is $18.00 per month, compared to a residential service rate of $20.07 in areas where TTSA does not receive property tax. The connection fee for a residential living unit is $5,000 in both taxed and non-taxed areas.
No recommendations for this finding
F10
TSA has the authority to perform wastewater collection services in addition to wastewater treatment. Although member agencies currently perform wastewater collection services, these agencies provide the service at different cost and efficiency levels.
Related Recommendations (2)
R2
The TTSA Board of Directors should consider ways to merge or consolidate TTSA wastewater treatment with the collection activities of its member agencies and other agencies such as the Town of Truckee.
R3
The TTSA Board of Directors should develop an inflow and infiltration plan and involve its member agencies in addressing the problems of unwanted inflow and infiltration into the wastewater collection infrastructure.
F11
TTSA does not have a Master Plan. Instead, TTSA reviews its capital improvement needs on an annual basis and adopts a revised 5-year capital improvement budget annually.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The Tahoe Truckee Sanitation Agency (TTSA) Board of Directors should take a leadership role in developing a comprehensive document for planning purposes, i.e., Master Plan, for projecting wastewater flows to prepare for the next treatment plant expansion.
F12
The Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) report provides the following information regarding TTSA treatment plant expansion and current operational issues: a. “TTSA planned capacity will be fully maximized at a summer population of 143,000 during the summer months and 148,000 during the winter months around the year 2015. These figures are based on probable development in the Martis Valley, the Town of Truckee and North Lake Tahoe based on the General Plans currently in place. b. There is no regional approach to managing growth and resolving land use planning issues between jurisdictions in the study area. TTSA was established principally to process sewage and serve member jurisdictions. Wastewater treatment is provided on a first-come first-served basis. As development occurs within a given member agency’s boundaries, capacity that could otherwise be used by other member agencies is reduced. c. While TTSA is taking steps to reduce Inflow and Infiltration2 on its Truckee River Interceptor, there appears to be no consistent program throughout the member agencies to reduce Inflow and Infiltration, and little incentive collectively to member agencies to address the problem comprehensively. While some agencies have active Inflow and Infiltration reduction programs, others do not.” CONCLUSIONS
No recommendations for this finding
Conclusions 3
-
CL1 Page 5TTSA has developed a plan to finance the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant, and enlarge and improve the Truckee River Interceptor. TTSA appears adequately funded and has addressed infrastructure problems through systematic maintenance programs.
-
CL2 Page 5The Grand Jury concurs with the LAFCO report which also states: a. “Additional wastewater treatment planning is required for the period beyond
-
CL3 Page 6It bears repeating that NPDES permits are renewed every five years. At each renewal, LRB Board Orders may incorporate additional treatment objectives and more stringent wastewater discharge regulations that could require upgrades or modifications to the TTSA treatment plant.
No Responses Found 1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
Truckee Sanitary District (Nevada)
Special District