On Thursday, September 15 the Chamber of Commerce held its monthly luncheon at the City of Fallon Water Treatment Plant which included a tour of the facility afterward.
Mayor Ken Tedford gave the group of almost 70 attendees a brief history of the plant's beginnings, explaining that the plant serves both city residents as well as the Fallon Naval Air Station. “We ended what was a tumultuous time with the EPA, Region Nine San Francisco. It started in 1970 when I was a junior in high school, this whole battle over arsenic. Bob Erickson, mayor from 1987 to 1995, signed a seven-point agreement approved by the council to treat for arsenic. He was the first mayor that had done that, the other mayors had fought treatment.”
The mayor went on to say that the plant treats the city’s and base’s wells, all of which are between 400 and 600 feet deep. He also described the two different types of arsenic, one that runs through the valley's water, and “One that is 'Arsenic and Old Lace,' it can kill you. Ours is not that kind. We were at 100 parts per billion, and this plant treats to 10 parts per billion. We never had a plant here because this water was always pure with naturally occurring fluoride and other minerals that are very good for you, with the exception of the arsenic. We were asked many times why we didn't just add arsenic treatment to our plant. They didn't realize we didn't have a plant, and ours was going to be the first plant to be built to treat for arsenic anywhere. We now had to take out all the minerals that were in the water, then put them all back except the arsenic, especially the fluoride. We broke ground in 2003 and the plant was completed in 2004 at a cost of $20 million. Senator Reed got $18 million in federal funding for the plant, and the city paid the other two million. The operation and maintenance of the facility is about $1.5 million a year, and that always concerned me. It had to be paid by all of the water users, commercial, residential, and the base. But our water can never be questioned now.”
The mayor then introduced Deputy Public Works Director Adrian Noriega, who is responsible for plant operations. Noriega thanked the mayor and his administrative staff, the plant staff, and the chamber for putting the luncheon together then said, “We began the service just over 18 years ago. It services the city and the Navy base. The plant was designed to treat a maximum flow of 9.7 million gallons per day, that's its design capability. It produces between 2.5 and 3 million gallons a day during the summertime, and that amount drops during the wintertime as demand drops. The entire facility consists of the four city wells and the three Navy base wells that produce the water. Other facilities associated with the plant include the city booster station, the Navy booster station, a pressure-reducing station, three city storage tanks, and one Navy storage tank. Inside the plant, you will see the 16 filter pressure vessels which are back-washed every 24 hours. After being treated, the water is released to a 400,000-gallon storage tank outside and then goes into the distribution system for the city and the Navy.”
Tours of the plant were given after a buffet lunch of spinach salad, jasmine rice, baby shrimp, sliced tri-tip, dinner rolls, and pumpkin cheesecake rolls for dessert provided by 3C Catering. Swag bags were also provided by the city for each attendee that included turned wooden pens made by Gene Hurley, journals, water bottles, mag lights, and other goodies.
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