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Swan Lake, which inundated Lemmon Valley in 2017, is again burgeoning under a heavy winter and has already inched past the high water mark from the floods two year ago.

Washoe County officials charged with managing the flooded lake say they have a handle on the situation and there's nothing to worry about.

But residents, who once again have flooded yards and are watching water percolate under the barriers erected to hold the lake back, are pleading with government officials to do more.

"It's a failure," Lemmon Valley resident Denise Ross told the Reno City County on Wednesday. "The residents are terrified they are going to lose their animals, they're going to lose their homes, and even perhaps lose their lives."

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Of particular concern to residents is the water seeping through the berms built by Washoe County along the north end of the lake to protect homes flooded in 2017. Water is bubbling up through Pompe Way.

Officials need to "realize how catastrophic it's going to be, not if, when that road collapses and that lake comes rushing through," Ross said.

Washoe engineer: 'misinformation' causing needless worry

Washoe County Engineer Dwayne Smith, who has personally kept a watchful eye on the temporary barriers designed to corral flood waters, said the barriers are not in danger of collapse. Water that bubbles through is returned to the lake by a series of pumps, he said.

"Seepage is expected, anticipated and dealt with by the pumps," Smith said. "There are no areas where catastrophic failure would occur due to these minor seepage issues. I don't like seepage, but I don't worry about seepage."

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Smith said he empathizes with residents who have had to deal with the flooded lake, but said "misinformation" is causing people needless worry.

"I'm hoping through these discussions to get the truth out," he said. "I don't want people going to bed at night thinking they're going to wake up with water in their house."

Smith refused to describe the high water levels as flooding, saying it's a different situation than two years ago when the lake water ran into neighborhoods unchecked.

"We don't have flooding in Lemmon Valley," he said. "We have water in Swan Lake. I want to be real cognizant, this is not the same situation as the first two months of 2017 when we had water on streets, we had water on properties and in (some) cases we had water in people's houses. That was horrible."

Not everyone's property is dry this year, though. When asked about photos of flooded properties, Smith walked his statement back a bit.

"We have maybe five properties with water on the property," he said. "That is a problem for us. I'm concerned about that. What the team is doing right now, we are going to be installing some additional protections as soon as we can to get the water off the property to the greatest degree possible."

Concerns over inundated sewage treatment plant

Residents also are concerned about water that has inundated the county's sewage treatment plant on the southeast corner of the lake. Ponds normally used for evaporating treated effluent are filled with lake water. And the county is pumping water that has seeped from the lake into one of its sludge ponds back into the lake.

That water has edged up to the playground at Lemmon Valley Elementary School.

Smith says the water poses no health risks and is in compliance with its state environmental permit.

Nevada Division of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Jo Ann Kittrell confirmed the plant is operating within its permit and said state and county officials are testing water quality to ensure there is no danger to the public.

Meanwhile, the county is actively building higher berms around the sludge ponds to keep the ponds from being flooded, Smith said.

Lemmon Valley Drive also remains closed along on the northwest edge of the lake so the county can add additional water pumps and rails to protect the barriers from cars. Smith said crews hope to have the road open this week, but said weather or work delays could push back the opening date.

More water? That depends on the snowpack melt

As the year's heavy snowpack begins to melt, Smith said he anticipates the lake will rise even more. On Wednesday, the lake was about a tenth of an inch over the high water mark reached in mid-April 2017.

"I don't know if we're talking an inch or six inches, but I do expect over the next four to six weeks we'll have enough precipitation and snow melt that we'll have some amount of lake rise," Smith said.

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He added the barriers in place can handle another two feet of water before they become ineffective.

"We could see another two feet of water rise and not have issues," he said.

Meanwhile, the Reno City Council decided Wednesday to spend an additional $125,000 to a consultant who is helping the city defend itself against a class action lawsuit filed by Lemmon Valley residents who claim the city worsened the flooding by approving rampant development in the North Valleys and pumping effluent water from its sewage plant into the lake.

HDR Engineering will now be paid up to $325,000 to help the city with the litigation.

The case is expected to go to trial in June.