CTMRD Program
Current Activities
The Central Truckee Meadows Remediation District (CTMRD) program is administered by the Washoe County Department of Water Resources (WCDWR) on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) and is responsible for a number of objectives, including mitigating existing PCE contamination in the central Truckee Meadows aquifer system, preventing future contamination, protecting existing uncontaminated portions of the aquifer, and keeping stakeholders and interested parties informed of program activities. These many objectives are reflective of the belief that effectively managing the PCE problem in the central Truckee Meadows requires a multi-pronged approach. At any given time, the CTMRD program staff and other stakeholder agencies are involved in a variety of activities designed to carry out the objectives of the program.
Highlights of the major initiatives currently underway are outlined below.
Wellhead Treatment
Wellhead treatment performs the single most important action associated with the existence of the CTMRD program – protection of the citizens of southern 
Currently, there are five municipal water supply wells in the central Truckee Meadows that have PCE treatment systems in place. These systems remove PCE from the groundwater produced by wells impacted with PCE, and were installed between 1996 and 1998 to treat the following Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) wells:
Wellhead treatment at water supply wells ensures the delivery of safe drinking water and is considered the most efficient and cost effective means of remediating relatively low concentration PCE contaminated groundwater in the deep zone of the Truckee Meadows aquifer system. Water is treated at these wells through a process known as air stripping, which uses air to promote removal of PCE from groundwater. Large-scale PCE mass removal through air stripping has been ongoing since 1996.
The CTMRD program funds the ongoing operation and maintenance of wellhead treatment for PCE impacted wells. The program will fund future wellhead treatment design, construction, and operations and maintenance for other wells that become impacted by PCE that can not be attributed to a specific source. The program will also fund other remedies deemed appropriate for protection from and/or treatment of PCE contamination of groundwater produced to meet municipal water needs.
Pumping Plan
The Pumping Plan is closely linked to the wellhead treatment activities described above. The Plan is an agreement between the CTMRD program and TMWA that defines the quantity and schedule for groundwater pumping in a given year from each of the five water supply wells currently equipped with wellhead treatment that will ensure that their operation also provides remedial benefit to the aquifer system. By meeting the specified groundwater pumping schedule and target volumes, not only is PCE removed from the water supplied to meet municipal drinking water demands; it also helps control potential migration of the PCE plumes. 
This helps to minimize the spread of recognized PCE contamination to uncontaminated portions of the aquifer and protects the other water supply wells that are located downgradient from areas of known PCE contamination.
The five TMWA wells fitted with wellhead treatment equipment do capture a significant portion of the PCE that originates from beneath downtown
As more information is collected and a better understanding of the relationship between the groundwater contamination and water supply production is developed, the CTMRD program will work with TMWA to re-evaluate and update the Pumping Plan on an as-needed basis. The effort of re-evaluating and updating the Pumping Plan is likely to include continued groundwater sampling and analysis, database management, capture zone analysis and/or groundwater modeling, and evaluations of wellfield management scenario alternatives conducted through a cooperative partnership between the CTMRD program and TMWA.
Groundwater Monitoring Plan (GMP)
Routine and systematic groundwater monitoring is performed as part of the CTMRD program. The objective of groundwater monitoring is to track water quality conditions beneath the central Truckee Meadows (CTM), and to provide the fundamental information needed to characterize and evaluate the distribution of PCE in groundwater in the CTM, assess the potential risk that contamination poses to groundwater receptors (i.e. municipal water supply wells), and to provide information to support practical and effective mitigation decision making. The GMP describes the process for monitoring PCE and other related volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in groundwater in the CTM. The GMP was implemented beginning in late 2003, at which time the first regularly scheduled groundwater monitoring event was conducted. The GMP currently involves monthly water level measurements and quarterly water quality sampling at more than 200 wells.
Sewer Monitoring Program (SMP)
A key element in the CTMRD program successfully achieving the goal of mitigating the PCE impacts to groundwater in the CTM is to work with the regulatory agencies to ensure that current PCE users are not contributing to the ongoing degradation of the aquifer system. This involves collaboration on the collection and evaluation of information that would identify active sources of PCE groundwater contamination. The information collected is used for characterization purposes, for preventative benefit, or to initiate remedial action and ensure its effectiveness.
Data collected beginning in 2001 strongly suggest that the sanitary sewer system may have acted in the past as a conduit for PCE-bearing wastewater to contaminate soil and groundwater in the CTM. This includes both active PCE discharging as well as residual PCE sources. As the density of PCE is greater than water, it will settle into low points, such as cracks or crevices along the sewer line, through which it may be possible for PCE to find a pathway to the environment.
Washoe County (through the CTMRD program) has worked with the cities of Reno and Sparks to develop, adopt (in 2005) and implement a standardized set of sewer discharge regulations to ensure consistency and effectiveness amongst jurisdictions when it comes to potential PCE discharges to the sanitary sewer collection system. These entities, along with NDEP and WCHD, are also working together to ensure that user education on proper PCE use, handling, storage, and disposal, coupled with active inspection and regulatory enforcement will succeed in minimizing any ongoing and future releases of PCE into the sanitary sewer collection system.
The Sewer Monitoring Program (SMP) is a sewer-line wastewater sampling program undertaken by the CTMRD program in collaboration with the cities of
The data obtained from the SMP are then used to identify any facility that is not in compliance with the existing regulations and to assist in identifying locations where PCE contamination to the environment (associated with potential sewer line discharges) may be taking place. This is to ensure that the appropriate regulatory action, or investigative or remedial regulatory strategies can be developed, evaluated, selected, and implemented, as discussed in the following section on source management.
Source Management
Intro
When results from the Groundwater Monitoring Plan or Sewer Monitoring Program indicate a potential PCE source, this may warrant additional investigation and/or action. If the source of a PCE release is unknown, a potential source area investigation may be initiated by the CTMRD program. Alternatively, if the source of contamination IS known or can be determined (based on sewer sampling results, groundwater sampling results, or a reported spill) then a corrective action may be initiated – either by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, or the Washoe County Health District.
Existing data shows that PCE discharges from both active PCE-using businesses as well as from residual PCE sources resulting from historical activities have contributed to the contamination of soils and groundwater in the CTM. As indicated above, contamination that can be attributed to a specific responsible party is addressed through an enforcement action managed by NDEP or WCHD. Legacy or orphan PCE contamination that poses a threat to the groundwater resource is mitigated by
Potential Source Area (PSA) Investigations
There are five potential source area (PSA) investigations currently underway in the central Truckee Meadows. These include: the area near the intersection of Mill Street & Kietzke Lane (the Mill/Kietzke PSA); the area generally along
These investigations are varying stages of progress, and thus far may have included passive soil gas (PSG) sampling and/or active soil gas (ASG) sampling. Once more data have been collected and analyzed, any area found to exhibit significant PCE contamination will be assessed and considered for remedial action.
Corrective Actions
Once the activities on a specific property have been identified as the source for PCE groundwater contamination, it is referred to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP), Bureau of Corrective Actions for further action, which may include characterization and possible clean-up of the release. There are currently seven sites in the central Truckee Meadows that are administered as corrective action sites for PCE contamination by NDEP.
For additional information on NDEP corrective actions, including a list, map and status of current corrective action sites in the Reno/Sparks area, click here.
Remediation Management Plan Update
The Remediation Management Plan (RMP) guides the activities of the CTMRD program. It is intended to provide background on the program, identify program goals and objectives and the mechanisms and timelines for achieving them, delineate existing CTMRD boundaries, and define stakeholder agencies’ roles and responsibilities. The principal objectives of the CTMRD program include mitigating existing PCE contamination in the central Truckee Meadows aquifer system, preventing future contamination, protecting existing uncontaminated portions of the aquifer, and keeping stakeholders and interested parties informed of program activities.
The RMP was originally adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in 2002 (and approved by NDEP in 2003). Since that time, activities conducted by the CTMRD program have resulted in a better understanding of the nature and the extent of the PCE problem in the central Truckee Meadows. These activities have also resulted in a better understanding of the aquifer system itself, and the processes that influence the distribution and movement of PCE. Furthermore, the stakeholder agencies who are collectively responsible for ensuring that both historical and present time PCE management and mitigation activities are both practical and effective have improved the processes they employ to do so. Recognizing this improved understanding of the nature, extent, and causes of the PCE problem and the ways in which the stakeholder processes utilized to address the problem can be improved, it has also been recognized that an update to the RMP is needed.
Updating the RMP is a process involving participation by all of the stakeholder agencies. As required by the state statute governing the CTMRD program, the RMP (and any updates to the RMP) are required to receive approval from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and be adopted by the Washoe County Commission. The RMP is currently in the process of being updated and is anticipated to be completed in mid-2012.
Outreach
The CTMRD program and the other stakeholder agencies are committed to proactively communicating with each other, policy-makers, affected business sectors, the press, and the public about events or program efforts that may affect any of these groups. As a result, effective outreach has been established as one of the four major objectives of the CTMRD program and the stakeholder agencies. This includes the creation of a community relations and communications plan intended to clearly identify outreach goals and create a plan for complete, consistent and timely communication in response to specific events. Additionally, upcoming goals include creating outreach material for business owners, property owners and potential developers or investors in the central Truckee Meadows with the intention of providing information about how the CTMRD program activities or related activities and/or requirements of stakeholder agencies may affect them. This effort includes partnering with stakeholder agencies and the
As part of its outreach efforts, the CTMRD program is also committed to meeting with local community groups (Citizen Advisory Boards, Neighborhood Advisory Boards, etc.) as needed, as well as updating its web site to become a readily accessible source of current program information to any interested parties.