Spring Mountain-Durango Reservoir and Pumping Station

"Designing an Attractive Pumping Station"

How can a large water pumping facility offer an attractive alternative to the monolithic, unsightly rectangular pumping station designs so common in today's water industry?

That was the goal of the US $20 million Spring Mountain-Durango Reservoir and Pumping Station in Las Vegas, Nevada -- the area’s largest water pumping facility when designed. MWH worked closely with the client, Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD), to address a variety of resident concerns.

The facility — the first of its kind to offer such an aesthetic, community-friendly design — was awarded an Honor Award at the 2000 Engineering Excellence Competition, presented at the American Consulting Engineers Council's Annual National Competition

MWH designed the groundbreaking facility within budget and on time. The system has a maximum pumping capacity of 155 million gallons per day (mgd) and additional storage capacity of 15 mg to increase the site total to 35 million gallons. Overall, it supports about 130,000 local residents.

An Aesthetic Alternative

Spring Mountain-Durango Reservoir and Pumping Station's community-friendly design is noteworthy. The project included building a 15 million-gallon reservoir, a single buried structure housing pumping stations to three separate pressure zones, improving the landscaping, and rehabilitating a 20 million-gallon reservoir.

Today, all that’s visible are five small "homes" with stucco walls and tile roofs. Even the landscaping is the typical southwest palm tree — water conscious shrubbery common in the arid Las Vegas area.

To achieve this aesthetic design, MWH and the District staff met monthly with the Citizens Design Review Team (CDRT). These active community representatives offered input on design and features such as landscape rock, block wall color and roof types.

The Project Details

At the Spring Mountain-Durango Reservoir and Pumping Station, only the support facilities are located above ground.

The pumping station is buried about 30 feet below the surface. It consists of 13 large horizontal split-case centrifugal pumps housed within a 374 feet long by 89 feet wide structure. The substructure of the pumping station building is longer than a football field, while the reservoir is a rectangular buried reinforced concrete design. The support buildings include two evaporative cooling structures, an electrical switchgear building, electrical substation and sodium hypochlorite storage. The facility was constructed on a fast-track schedule in 19 months necessary for the complex sequencing of the work.

Spring Mountain-Durango Reservoir and Pumping Station went into operation in March 1999. Officials say it is a key element in the LVVWD’s future water transmission capabilities and a model for all future community relations activities.