On Monday Nov. 20, the Humboldt County Board of Commissioners approved an extension of the Golconda General Improvement District (GID) to include the nearby Diamond Plastics property.
Diamond Plastics plans to construct a pipeline to the Golconda GID using their own product. They will cover all costs of the construction. The Georgia-based company manufactures corrosion-free PVC pipe for irrigation, sewer and water lines.
Scott Clark, maintenance manager of Diamond Plastics, explained that he received a letter from the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection Department of Safe Drinking Water (NDEP). The letter stated that because the plant employed a certain number of people that it provided with water, it was considered a public water system.
Since the water exceeded acceptable levels of arsenic, antimony, manganese and fluoride, the plant needed to remedy it. Though Diamond Plastics provided bottled drinking water for employees for 20 years, NDEP said the company needed to improve its piped water quality.
Clark said the company considered two main options: build a water treatment plant or petition for extension of the Golconda GID to include the Diamond Plastics property via pipeline. Constructing the pipeline from Golconda made more sense economically.
Golconda GID had no board of directors at the time, so the petition had to wait. When Humboldt County took over running the GID, Clark immediately submitted the petition for expansion.
The board of commissioners’ approval of the GID expansion and pipeline project brings Diamond Plastics one step closer to remedying the water problem.
Some details still need to be ironed out with Union Pacific Railroad regarding the right of way, Humboldt County Manager Dave Mendiola said. Otherwise everything is ready for pipeline construction.
Union Pacific Railway’s easement extends 200 feet on either side of the tracks. The railway also owns Spring Creek, which is the source of Golconda’s water. Golconda has been leasing the water from Union Pacific Railway for over 100 years.
Clark said the pipeline project required an easement in Union Pacific’s right of way before turning north. The pipeline also needs to run under another set of tracks in Golconda.
Mendiola said that residents in Golconda’s General Improvement District should see no effect from the project.
