Trading wet for dry

Wetlands will wade into northwest Reno's Rancho San Raphael Park next year when an additional six acres of wetlands enhance the existing soggy site between the Herman's Pond west of the arboretum and McCarran Boulevard.

The additional wetlands are part of an agreement between the University of Nevada, Reno, and the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers to mitigate impacts on 3.7 acres of wetlands at the university used for campus expansion of the medical school.

Kennedy Jenks Consultants of Reno was awarded a contract to develop the wetlands last month, says Lynda Nelson, natural resource planner with Washoe County Regional Parks and Open Space.

The project must grade down to within three feet of lowest seasonal groundwater level to determine where grade level needs to be, says Nelson, adding that may require grading out four feet of material."It requires precision grading within half an inch." To determine that level, the county has been monitoring groundwater, says Matt Setty, project manager at Kennedy Jenks.Next, subcontractor Spencer B Gross Inc.will conduct a hydrologic assessment to produce a three-dimensional contour map and subcontractor JBR Environmental Consulting will begin the botanical studies and selection of plants.

The final plan will go out for bids next spring.

"Because wetlands are unique to build,we want planting to occur in the fall," says Setty.

The wetlands footprint of less than seven acres requires modification of three already-wet acres and construction on four dry acres.

Drainage of about four acres on the UNR campus prompted the wetlands mitigation project.That land will be used for a biomedical research facility for the University of Nevada School of Medicine and the Nevada Cancer Institute.

Design of the medical facility will take about a year, says Lyle Woodward, project coordinator with Facilities Services at UNR.

Its budget is estimated at $60 million, funded from the university, private sources, and state funds.

Dekker Perich Holmes Sabatini of Las Vegas was hired as architect by the State Public Works Board, the building authority for state projects.