Water is a vital — and rare — resource in the West. Consequently, when the Sierra Pacific Power Co. announced its intention to sell the private water utility that serves the Nevada cities of Reno and Sparks and Washoe County, the three governments knew they had to act quickly.

Local officials understood that losing local control of the area's water system could have serious repercussions for the quality of life in the area known as Truckee Meadows. So they decided to work together to ensure that loss of control did not happen. The result is the Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA), a public water utility that now is providing water service operation to approximately 73,000 households in the region.

It was not an easy undertaking. The three governments had to establish an appropriate governance structure and convince Sierra Pacific and the community that the new organization could purchase and operate the water system. Secondly, they had to work together to quickly determine a competitive bid level that would interest Sierra Pacific without requiring an immediate water rate hike. Finally, they had a public responsibility to perform Due Diligence within the short time frame set by the power company.

The three governments went to work, adopting a governance structure in November 2000 that was based on a Cooperative Joint Powers Agreement. The agreement created the TMWA and set up a seven-member board of representatives to be appointed by the three governments.

“Initially, there was a great deal of skepticism about whether the three governments could come together and submit a winning bid,” says Reno Mayor Jeff Griffin. “We saw how important this was to our community, and we stepped up and did the right thing.”

Immediately after creation of the TMWA, staff from both cities and the county began to meet weekly to put together a competitive bid, perform Due Diligence and provide the day-to-day administrative duties the new organization required. On Jan. 15 of this year, TMWA, competing against several companies, was awarded the bid. The scope of the bid included treatment facilities, distribution infrastructure, surface and groundwater rights, storage rights relating to Donner and Independence Lakes, and four hydroelectric facilities. Finally, the state's Public Utilities Commission approved the sale of the system.

TMWA issued $452.4 million in revenue bonds to finance the purchase of the system and the startup costs associated with the transition. The bonds are to be repaid over 30 years through operations revenue. The purchase terms also allowed TMWA to refund $21.5 million to ratepayers.

Agencies/companies involved: Reno, Sparks and Washoe County, Nev.