Fernley council authorizes design work for East wastewater plant, approves $10.3 million in FY2026

The Fernley City Council on Aug. 20 unanimously authorized the utilities department to proceed with design, planning and prioritization of recommended improvements for the East Wastewater Treatment Plant as outlined in an April 2025 preliminary engineering report.

The council approved a FY2026 allocation of $10,300,000 for the project’s design and initial work and accepted a planning-level recommendation that combines a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treatment process with on-site sodium hypochlorite generation for disinfection. The project was presented as a phased, multiyear effort that planners estimate could take four to five years to complete and could cost roughly $29 million at this stage of planning.

"This is time for us to move to a new, more efficient, better system," Sung Kim, Fernley’s utility director, told the council, explaining problems with the existing lagoon/pond system and the need to address nitrogen and sediment accumulation. Jonathan Lespronz, the consulting engineer presenting the preliminary engineering report, said the recommended combination of a sequencing batch reactor and on-site hypochlorite generation is intended to deliver reliable effluent quality and expand capacity as the city grows. "The recommended alternative has a price tag of about $29,000,000," Lespronz said, noting the figure is a class‑5, order‑of‑magnitude estimate that will be refined during detailed design.

The PER said the current plant treats about 1.5 million gallons per day with a permitted capacity of 3.0 million; consultants projected a 15‑year planning horizon with possible flows to 4.4 million gallons per day, which would exceed current capacity. The report also recounted a past administrative order on consent from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection tied to elevated nitrogen in monitoring wells and explained steps taken such as additional monitoring and pond lining. Lespronz said the city is not currently subject to a numeric nitrogen limit in its renewed discharge permit but could face one in the future, which the recommended design aims to accommodate.

Christine Brandon of the Western Nevada Development District urged the council to design the plant to produce a higher effluent quality to support potential industrial reuse and create revenue streams: "The first phase would get us to the 3,000,000 gallons a day, which is roughly about 45,000 population," she said, explaining the economic-development rationale for higher‑quality reuse water.

Councilman Seth Torres, who led the multi‑year push for the project, said the authorization opens the door for a long‑sought upgrade. "This is huge to me," he said before moving the authorization; the motion passed 5–0.

Next steps: staff will proceed with the design and planning phase, refine cost estimates during detailed design, and pursue grant and loan funding opportunities to offset capital costs.