In order to treat an average of 474 Million Gallons of sewage annually our Sewer Infrastructure Assets include:

  • 105 Miles of Gravity Lines and 14 Miles of Sewer Force Main between 6” to 24”
  • 1,926 Sewer Manholes
  • 20 Sewer Pump Stations
  • A wastewater treatment plant able to treat up to 2.1 million gallons daily
  • 20 Miles of Effluent Pipeline to Carson Valley
  • A 900 acre wetland site located in the Carson Valley for effluent water

Total Sewer Infrastructure Replacement Value: $325,000,000

Total assessed value of water and sewer infrastructure: $113,474,000 (2014 IVGID Audit Report)

Constructed in 1962, the IVGID Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Treatment Plant) receives an average of 1.3 million gallons of wastewater daily.  The collection and export system for wastewater includes: 100 miles of sewer pipelines, 18 pumping stations, a half million-gallon storage tank, and a twenty-mile export pipeline taking treated effluent out of the Tahoe Basin for final disposal  The wastewater treatment plant processes and disinfects wastewater using conventional biological treatment processes and solids handling facilities.

The wastewater treatment process from start to finish takes approximately 15 hours. The solids removed from the process are sent to Bentley Ranch for composting with other organic material. The export pipeline transports the plant’s secondary treated effluent to the IVGID wetlands in Douglas County.

The Wetlands facility was built in 1983 with 87% funding from EPA Grants.  The treated wastewater goes through final treatment by disposal through evaporation, transpiration (evaporation through plants), and percolation (seepage through soil). The water passes through several wetland lagoons on 290 acres of the 770 acre site. The system works in harmony with the existing warm-water wetlands, adapts to year-round fluctuations in weather and temperature, and meets state and EPA water quality requirements while providing unique wetlands habitat. The site includes a natural warm-water wetland and supports over 70 species of birds and mammals.