Carson City to sponsor state water project application for Marlette Lake System

Carson City to sponsor state water project application for Marlette Lake SystemThe municipality will act as the sponsoring entity for the State Public Works Division’s application to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection regarding the historic water system.

Carson City Board of Supervisors approved a tripartite agreement with the State of Nevada and Storey County.

The City will sponsor an 'Application for Approval of Water Project' to the Bureau of Safe Drinking Water.

State legislation has separately allocated over $14.5 million for rehabilitation work within the system.

The administrative action comes at no financial cost to Carson City.

The item was passed unanimously as part of the consent agenda.

The Carson City Board of Supervisors approved a cooperative agreement on February 5, 2026, regarding the Marlette Lake Water System, facilitating a project application process for the State of Nevada. The agreement involves the City, the State, and Storey County. Under the terms of the agreement, Carson City is obligated to cooperate on system project submittals by sponsoring an "Application for Approval of Water Project" on behalf of the Department of Administration State Public Works Division (SPWD). This application is destined for submittal to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Safe Drinking Water (BSDW). While the City's role is administrative, the State Public Works Division is managing substantial investments in the infrastructure. Senate Bill 502 allocated $14,589,720 for the Hobart Dam Rehabilitation project within the Marlette Lake Water System for the 2025-2027 biennium. The work addresses seepage at the historic site, with completion targeted for October 2026. The agenda documentation noted that the specific sponsorship agreement comes at "no cost to the City." The item was listed under the Public Works section of the consent agenda (Item 11a) and was approved unanimously following a motion by Supervisor Giomi, without separate discussion or debate regarding the specific engineering details of the underlying project. Separately, during a budget augmentation discussion, Sheri Russell-Benabou noted that general utility and water projects were moving forward and were "pretty standard," though the specific state-funded capital costs were not detailed in that verbal testimony.