You would be forgiven for thinking that October 17^th was just another ordinary day for the fifteen households of the Mt. Rose Bowl subdivision, hidden by dense forest between a ski resort and a sleepaway camp in Northern Nevada. But Sally Sue Broili vividly remembers letting out a joyful sigh of relief as families cleaned dishes, drank water, brushed their teeth, washed their hands, and went about their lives.

It was the first day any of the residents had direct access to potable water for over five months.

As President of the Mt. Rose Bowl Property Owners Water Company, Sally Sue Broili was very familiar with the Mt. Rose Bowl water tank, a 10,000-gallon structure made of redwood that had stood for over 50 years. “The tank was definitely showing signs of wear and tear,” she said. Residents were encouraged to have their own private water supplies due to occasional orders to boil all water coming from the tank before usage, lasting for approximately a week at a time.

Sally Sue first discovered the possibility of funding a new water tank for the community in 2018, after attending a conference hosted by the Nevada Rural Water Association. There she learned about USDA Rural Development’s Water and Waste Disposal Loans and Grants Program, as well as the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection’s State Revolving Loan Fund.

Construction began on the new water tank later that year, which was ready for community use by October 17^th 2023.

But before that, in the Winter of 2022, a historic snowfall led to one of the longest boil orders in the community’s seventy-year history.

Flooding from melted runoff shifted the wooden structure supporting the older water tank, causing it to list heavily to the left. That, in addition to snow loads on the tank exposed the water inside to foreign contaminants. A boil order was subsequently declared in May of 2023, and was not rescinded until that October.

“We couldn’t drink water or use it for cooking,” said Sally Sue. While the boil order didn’t impact daily activities not involving water ingestion, such as taking a shower, the barrier to using such an essential resource still complicated the lives of Mt. Rose Bowl residents, especially those with medical issues.

“There was a family whose child had Juvenile Kidney Cancer,” Sally Sue said. “They had to be very careful about what they were drinking."

But the five-month period Mt. Rose Bowl residents spent safeguarding the health of their families could have been drastically longer had construction not been underway.

“Everyone was extremely helpful on training me to do the required forms and documents,” she said, describing the application process for the funding from USDA RD and NDEP. “I am so glad everyone was willing to help.”

“We couldn’t drink water or use it for cooking,” said Sally Sue.

“Clean drinking water is essential for the well-being of all communities,” said Pierre Hippolyte, the USDA Rural Development Community Program Specialist for the investment. “It helps people to stay healthy and productive and saves them from incurring high medical costs. USDA RD and its partners decided to put the federal dollar to good use to build a new, sustainable tank. This project represents the USDA RD’s priority-- building healthy and thriving communities.”

“Having started shortly after this project initially broke ground, I am proud to see its success and impact on the community,” said Ian Sims, USDA RD State Engineer. “My goal has always been to ensure this community receives the resources they need to keep the project moving forward. We have communicated with and supported a variety of stakeholders to streamline the completion of this project at a modest cost and design for the benefit of all.”

“The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection is committed to protecting both public health and the environment,” said Jennifer Carr, Division Administrator. “The clean water Nevadans drink is a result of the plans and regulations that have been enacted over the years. We are dedicated to affirming public trust in those guidelines by providing supervision and support in investments critical to people’s lives like the Mt. Rose Bowl water tank.”

On October 17^th, the new tank was officially put into usage, ending six months of struggle and deprivation. With a capacity of 30,000 gallons, triple that of the old water tank, the new water tank will also mitigate high copper levels in the water that had been previously unaddressed as well as provide notice through SCADA technology when the tank is draining via text message.

It was a far cry from the older water tank in more ways than one—during a final inspection of the tank prior to its first usage, Sally Sue noted the new security measures, a locked ladder rung and mounted cameras.

“There used to be water tank parties,” she said, referring to the redwood water tank. “People would be swimming around in there!”