Last week the Pahrump Town Board unanimously refused a request from Utilities Inc. of Central Nevada for a letter of support for the company's $238 million water and wastewater infrastructure proposal and bid for stimulus funding from the Obama administration.

However, Utilities Inc. Regional Vice President Paul Burris is far from defeated.

The utility company will go forward with plans to knock on influential doors in Washington, D.C., this week with a proposal that is now up to $250 million and includes a project in Los Angeles.

Additionally, Burris and executive assistant Wendy Barnett intend to get the word out by hosting community meetings focused on the benefits for the local economy should the funds be granted.

In a nutshell, the project includes laying 500,000 linear feet of sewer main along with 500,000 feet of water distribution piping throughout its service area. That is more than 90 miles of both types of new pipe for Pahrump.

Laying that much pipe could be called a stimulus package in itself, as according to Burris, "We will be buying all the piping from a couple of local suppliers in Pahrump.

"In order to qualify for the federal money, we are required to have public-private partnerships," said Burris Friday. "Once property owners hear how much this can benefit them and the local economy, they'll be in a position to judge the project in a more informed manner," he said.

Insurance rates could go down.

"Our first priority is putting pipes in the ground," said Burris. Part of the funding would go toward replacing pipes that were installed by Central Nevada Utility Co.

"Some of the pipes now in the ground are not up to current standards," explained Burris. "Some are two inches in diameters, some are three inches and others are four inches."

Fire flows, or water available to fight fires, in many instances govern the size of pipe used in service areas. According to the National Fire Protection Association, public water systems must be reliable. Firefighters battling a fire should not affect residential demands, so the system must be designed to meet the simultaneous demand rates for both purposes.

Fire hydrants, which are a rare sight in Pahrump, are included in the infrastructure plan. They will be placed every 500 feet along the system as required by code. That safety upgrade means no one within Utility Inc.'s service area will be at the mercy of delays caused by water trucks running out of water. At least twice in 2008, when fires broke out in several areas of the valley at the same time, water trucks were forced to leave the scene of a fire to refill.

"Once the pipes are upgraded to current standards, it will help the ISO rating of the fire department. Homeowners in our service area could contact their insurance companies and ask for lower rates," said Burris.

"We just went through an ISO rating and the changes we've made during the last few years have improved our ISO from seven to three," Burris said. The highest rating is one.

In addition, "The new infrastructure piping would have more turnoff valves spaced closer together to isolate a smaller area in case of breakage," Barnett explained. "The valves would be spaced no more than a block or two apart."

There are approximately 20,000 properties throughout Pahrump that are already subdivided into lots, yet considered unbuildable; thus lowering their value considerably. According to Burris, another of his priorities is to get service to those lots within the Utilities Inc. service territory.

"That's the biggest bang for the buck we are going to get from this federal funding," he said.

It was suggested by a resident at the town board meeting that the federal funds would go toward helping Utilities Inc. service the controversial proposed federal detention center if and when it's built.

However, the federal stimulus funds cannot be used to run pipelines to the detention center because the money can only lawfully be used for areas already within a utility's service area.

The negative reaction of the town board to Utilities Inc.'s proposal surprised Burris.

He thought the members realized the importance of the project for the town.

"We are going to Washington to try to negotiate for the funds," explained Burris. "If the county and the town are not in the meeting with us, we are not getting the money. When we stand up there in front of the committee and they see we have no public partners, they are going to move on to the next applicants.

"There is no guarantee we will get the money, but if we don't have our public partners, we are guaranteed not to get anything."

As Burris sees it, the water and wastewater infrastructure project would create jobs and give Pahrump's sagging economy a much needed kick in the pants. Not only will half a million linear feet of sewer and water pipe be purchased locally, but all kinds of construction workers and supervisors will be needed on the project.

Barnett added, "This is going to help Nye County in other ways, too. All the permit money will be paid to the county."

"Let's say we ran water and sewer to some of those 20,000 unbuildable lots," said Burris. "Then say 1,000 of those lots became buildable and someone built a house on them and sold them to families ... The more customers there are to divide the cost, the less each person pays."

Burris emphasized if Utilities Inc. put the infrastructure in without the federal money, "It would drastically raise the utility rate.

"Some of the sewer systems have odor problems," admitted Burris. "The system has spots in it that need to be replaced. The federal money would allow replacement of the pipes with no direct cost to current customers."

Barnett said Utilities Inc. will be able to reuse water more efficiently with the new infrastructure in place. "I am excited about reusing the waste water. We can irrigate golf courses, the high school, the fairgrounds and Honeysuckle Park so they no longer have to use potable water."

Burris revealed the waterfall at the entrance to Calvada on Highway 160, uses potable rather than reused water. "Reusing water will help us maintain the water supply, and it's half the price of potable water."

The utility will not force property owners to connect to the new water system, according to Burris.

However, the Department of Water Resources could do just that as regulations state homes within 180 feet of a public water system must hook up to it.

"Right now the cost to connect for individual property owners with wells would include the cost of running the pipe as well as the cost of buying water rights," said Burris.

"If we get the proposed funding, those homes and properties would have the opportunity to be connected for free and their wells would be sealed for free. That's a savings of many thousands of dollars."

The Nevada Department of Environmental Protection has similar programs for connecting to the sewer line, and Burris said he would be willing to approach the agencies involved to negotiate favorable deals, although he couldn't guarantee anything at this time.

"If wells are not in service on properties, they will be capped and (the property) connected to the system under the infrastructure plan using federal funds," Burris said.