Douglas County, Carson City, and Indian Hills General Improvement District (IHGID), as a result of projected growth, combined efforts to respond to future demands.  In addition to increased water demands, the water purveyors within the Douglas County area had problems meeting current safe drinking water standards in some cases. As a result, Douglas County, Carson City, and IHGID looked at ways to insure current and future regulatory compliance. As an alternative to costly treatment processes, they turned to the Town of Minden to provide additional drinking water supply that meets drinking water standards.

To determine the feasibility of moving Town of Minden water through Douglas County to Indian Hills GID, Carson City, and the Douglas County North County/West Valley, Manhard staff created an extensive regional water model using Water CAD v8XM. The model was the basis for an alternative analysis to determine the most cost effective, energy efficient, and timely method to deliver the necessary flows to the above entities. The alternative analysis showed that a phased approach would provide the best solution for both the short term and long term demands, while insuring that the first phase of construction could be completed in the shortest amount of time. This was especially pertinent because IHGID did not meet safe drinking water standards due to elevated levels of arsenic. The Alternative Analysis was completed in July 2009 and accepted by Douglas County, IHGID, Carson City, and the Town of Minden. After approval of the alternatives, Manhard proceeded with the design of the improvements.

The improvements were bid under multiple contracts. The overall scope of work included a preliminary design report (pump selections, piping material selections, schedule and cost estimates), survey of pipeline alignments and the booster pump station site, preliminary design of improvements, environmental and regulatory permitting, final design (plans and specifications), bidding assistance including recommendation to award contracts, and construction management support.