A spring 2008 earthquake sent shivers down the spines of Truckee Meadows Water Authority officials when its 4.7-magnitude tremors brought the Highland Flume in Verdi crumbling to the ground. The flume provided more than half of the water to the Chalk Bluff water treatment plant, which, in turn, provides about 78 percent of the authority’s water output.

More than a year later, those tremors have set off a chain reaction prompting an acceleration of a water pipeline improvement project and the receipt of $3 million federal stimulus loans.

Water authority contractors are bypassing the antiquated flume system altogether by installing a pipeline that will push water from the Truckee to Reno-Sparks residents with the use of gravity, instead of diesel-consuming pumps. This means a $400,000 savings for TMWA and a greener way for residents to get their water. The savings and green element earned the $8 million project some stimulus funding of $3 million in interest-free federal loans.

On Thursday, Reno Tahoe Construction contractors, under the direction of the water authority, were in the process of planting 8,400 feet of large, concrete pipeline beneath the ground leading up to the broken flume. Touted as TMWA’s answer to energy-efficient water delivery, the “Mogul Bypass” project was already on the authority’s to-do list but fast-tracked once the Highland flume fell down.

The bypass project will install the large, reinforced concrete and steel pipes beneath the ground, replacing the Highland Canal Flume system. The bypass will also install an additional 1,400 feet of reinforced concrete box for water to flow through. The more than five-foot diameter pipes will be placed in a bed of gravel and separated from backfill by a layer of black sheeting. TMWA construction administrator Brent Eisert said that the concrete pipes will have their strength tested by density testing consultants.

The pipeline project is expected to bypass the antiquated flume system, meaning that the water will flow to local treatment plants with the help of gravity.

“It’s all free energy,” Eisert said.

The project administrator added that the project will boost water flow capacity from its current 55 million gallons per day to 95 million gallons per day, meaning more water for the Chalk Bluff Plant. TMWA anticipated customers needing about 141 million gallons per day during peak summer service.

The Mogul Bypass project is scheduled for completion in spring 2010 and has created approximately 35 jobs, according to TMWA spokeswoman Jennifer Sanzi.