TONOPAH -- Consulting contracts were approved by Nye County Commissioners last week to start studying a sewer district and flood control district for Pahrump Valley.

Commissioners expect the cost of the studies to be reimbursed once a General Improvement District is created for the entire Pahrump Regional Planning District.

Farr West Engineering got the $22,668 contract for phase one of the Pahrump sanitary sewer service plan. The same company received a $51,400 contract to prepare documents for state-mandated upgrades to the Gabbs sewer treatment facility, expected to cost $356,887.

Bureau Veritas North America Inc. received a $386,946 contract to prepare a Pahrump flood control service plan, which will include detailed descriptions of facilities to be constructed.

"The board actually approves the GID. There's no voting by the public required," Nye County Public Works Director Samson Yao said. "It's building up an infrastructure for Pahrump so it's something that needs to be done."

Owners of septic systems won't be required to hook up to the sewer system, but grants will be available to entice them to hook up, Yao said in a phone interview after the meeting. Nye County could pick up the gaps in sewer service in areas not covered by the three private utility companies in the Pahrump Regional Planning District, Yao said.

Nye County Commissioner Butch Borasky said he lived in a couple communities in upstate New York where people were given time to disconnect from septic systems and reconnect to sewer lines. One project was almost totally paid by the county, the other resulted in a minimal amount of taxes to convert.

"It's not like everybody's taxes are going to be out of sight. When you get into general improvement districts, sewer districts, there's a lot of federal money flowing," Borasky said.

The commissioner didn't know if the plan would include a buyout of existing utility companies.

The Public Utilities Commission isn't allowing additional utility companies and small treatment plants for subdivisions, homeowners have to tie into existing system, he said.

"They aren't going to allow more utility companies to start up," Borasky said.

The GID would have to float a bond issue for the sewer system in addition to obtaining grants, he said.

"If we could get the plans GID, sewer district, water district, it puts Nye County in more of a drivers seat where it could be more manageable," Borasky said.

Nye County's request for proposals for the sewer service plan states the expansion of the three privately-owned utility companies providing sewer service in Pahrump Valley has been "slow and in an unorderly fashion."

It notes some of the five treatment plants are at or near capacity and undergoing major expansions for short term growth, but not for the long term growth of the next 20 to 50 years.

The county estimates over 30,000 housing units will be built in the next 10 to 15 years, creating a need for five to 10 more new satellite utility systems. Under that trend, the county estimates by 2026 there may be 15 or more utility companies operating.

The county notes there's also over 10,000 septic systems in Pahrump Valley, and the Nye County Water Resources Plan estimates as many as 25,000 additional septic systems may be installed in the next 50 years.

The request for proposals states: "Poorly designed, constructed and/or maintained individual sewage disposal systems (septic systems) coupled with the lack of flood and drainage control infrastructure further aggravate ground subsidence and groundwater contamination potential."

A general improvement district would also encourage sewer reclamation as a water conservation measure, the county states.

Consultants will work with Nye County's bond counsel, Swendseid and Stern, to prepare the financial elements of the bond issue.

Farr West Engineering, as part of the first phase of the sewer plan study, will examine coverage by the three privately-owned utilities in Pahrump, examine assessments of property values and Geographic Information System mapping.

Their phase one report is due by Oct. 16. The summary document will identify existing data gaps and a proposed scope of work for phase two, expected to be much more costly. The phase one sewer study won't examine things like the cost of a main sewage treatment facility or land acquisition for infrastructure.

In a brief discussion by Nye County Commissioners, Brent Farr, owner of Farr Engineering, said, "I think the work we're going to be doing in Pahrump is among the most challenging and exciting projects we've ever done."

The $386,946 contract with Bureau Veritas of Las Vegas for the drainage and flood control GID, specifies a completion date by Aug. 8.

This study will also involve mapping the proposed area to be included in the Drainage and Flood Control District and any additional watersheds. Consultants will come up with a formula to assess charges to create the improvement district. The company will look at the cost of land acquisition and the design, construction, operation and maintenance of major capital improvements including dams, levees, detention and retention facilities, major flood channels and pipeline conveyances for major storm events.

Donald Allison, senior project manager for Bureau Veritas, requested that Nye County furnish construction cost estimates for each of the 54 drainage projects needed for a 100-year storm.

Allison, in a Feb. 16 letter to the Nye County public works director, said the service plan will discuss the effects of forming general and special improvement districts, as well as user fees, connection fees and other potential fees.

"We need to determine the ability of the community to pay additional taxes and/or GID/SID costs," Allison wrote.