Nearly two decades have passed since the concept of a satellite water reclamation
facility was proposed for the west side of the Las Vegas Valley (Valley). Developments
in the Valley have undergone generations of change in this short time, and efforts to
adapt the original designs suggested for the satellite plant have raised many
challenges. While some design choices allow for enough flexibility to respond to
changing conditions as the facilities mature, others may limit future options and
contribute to costly limitations.
Generally, it is accepted that reclaimed water systems have not provided a revenue
stream that is capable of supporting the entire cost of the system. However, uncounted
benefits or perhaps non-participating benefited stakeholders are often the reason the
balance sheet does not operate in the black. This paper discusses
the challenges associated with designing a system using monthly average demand
data to operate a system dealing with minute by minute control needs, determining the
efficiency and reduced maintenance effort with different delivery control valves, and
dealing with reduced supply values and wet weather operation limitations. Includes figures.