Nichols Consulting Engineers

Stagecoach Area Well Siting Study

Water is Nevada's most precious resource. Systems that rely on groundwater not only have to be concerned about quantity of water but also quality of the water delivered to the customer. In the Stagecoach area, the primary constituents of concern are nitrate and arsenic. The former is generally attributable to human development and the latter is naturally occurring. Over the course of the last twenty years, the District has been forced to abandon four wells due to elevated nitrate levels and two wells due to arsenic exceeding the MCL of 10 ppb.

Acting as District Engineer, NCE was asked to develop recommendations for siting of a new production well that will meet the production needs of the system as well as water quality standards, particularly related to nitrate and arsenic. To accomplish these objectives, available data and reports were obtained from a variety of sources and evaluated to determine major production zones, water quality trends with depth and area, and possible production capabilities of lithologic units. Geologic cross sections and water quality contour maps will be prepared to assist in interpretation of the data. Once a well site is selected, NCE will prepare recommendations for preliminary well design and pilot hole exploration. NCE's responsibilities have included data gathering and interpretation, data review and analysis, develop recommendations and report, pilot well exploration design.