DEATH VALLEY (KTNV) — The National Park Service is setting aside $62 million to upgrade the water and wastewater infrastructure systems at Death Valley National Park.
Subject to the final contract award, the project will:
- Replacing over 12 miles of aging water and sewer pipes
- Constructing a new well to eliminate use of the environmentally sensitive Nevares Spring
- Replacing well pumps in the Furnace Creek system
- Replacing one lift station and eliminating two others to improve efficiency and reduce maintenance
- Building a new water treatment building at Cow Creek and upgrading the existing facility at Furnace Creek
- Upgrading the Furnace Creek sewage treatment lagoon system
The project will also create looped water systems, ensuring uninterrupted water service even if there is a section break in the water main pipe.
According to park rangers, between 2022 and 2023, the water system required repairs 99 times.
They added that during that same time frame, wastewater systems had to be repaired 27 times.
Funding is coming from the Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund. That legislation was passed in 2020.
Construction on the project is expected to start next year. There is no timeline on how long the project would last.
