PROJECT INFORMATION:
The Town of Encampment is located in southern Carbon County and takes
its water supply from the North Fork of the Encampment River.
Deliveries to end users are limited by both the reliability of supply
and the capacity of the treatment plant. Daily use per capita is 377
gallons. This figure is relatively high, but since the system is
unmetered, there is no way to correlate actual usage with treatment
plant output. Some portion of the base daily demand may be a result of
system losses.
The system has 293 taps and serves a population of 400. The system is
unmetered and users pay a flat monthly rate of $19. Encampment wants a
master plan study to assist in location of alterative sources and
evaluation of general system condition, management and operation. The
town is particularly concerned that the North Fork is not a reliable
source in time of drought. A previous WWDC project funded
reconstruction of the intake structure and delivery system to the
treatment plant to improve the function of the diversion in periods of
low flow, but the North Fork has been known to dry up completely in the
reach at the diversion. WWDC has funded extensive groundwater
exploration in the area. Previous Encampment studies, and the
construction by WWDC of a new water supply system for the neighboring
Town of Riverside, indicate that the only viable alternative source is
likely to be groundwater development in the Brown's Park formation east
of Riverside.
WWDC funded several test and production wells to develop the supply
source for Riverside. Previous studies have also recommended meters as
one way to control use and provide information for system management,
but Encampment has chosen not to install meters. If the study is funded,
priority consideration should be given to a linking of the Encampment
and Riverside water systems. The communities have resisted such
cooperation in the past, with the result that the area has two
completely separate sewage treatment systems for a total population of
under 1000 people.
A Level II report was completed in 1997 by PMPC. The study recommended
the following improvements to the Encampment water system:
-
Priority 1: Install residential and commercial water meters
Priority 2: Convert water treatment plant to Direct Filtration (1,200 gpm)
Priority 3: Connect to the Sierra Madre Water and Sewer Joint Powers Board
- (SMJPB) water system
Priority 4: Sand Blast and Repaint Storage Tank Interior
Priority 5: Loop Dead End Lines and Replace Undersized Lines
Priority 6: Extend Raw Water Irrigation System to the Cemetery
The town has requested funding (grant only) for items 3 and 6. The
total cost of these components is estimated to be $228,000.00. These
components are proposed to be financed with a grant from the New
Development account with a 60% grant. The remaining 40% of the project
financing will be matched with proceeds from a capital facilities tax
that was passed on November 4, 1997 and RUS grants and loans.
In addition to the two components that will be partially funded by the
WWDC, there are proposed water treatment plant upgrades (Priority 2),
meter installation (Priority 1), tank rehabilitation (Priority 4), and
distribution line improvements (Priority 5) that total more than $1.6
million. The City of Encampment will finance these improvements through
proceeds from the Carbon County capital facilities tax, RUS, and the
Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board.
RECOMMENDED LEGISLATIVE ACTION:
The WWDC recommends that the project be advanced to Level III in the New
Development Program with an appropriation of $137,000.00 (grant only).
