St. Maries Defeats Water Filter System

St. Maries voters turned down the chance to buy a $5.5 million filtration system.

The system would have allowed them to continue getting water from Rochat Creek. But they voted 327 to 94 against the measure.

Paying off the bond would have more than doubled the average water bill.

St. Maries is one of the largest towns in Idaho to rely on surface water. While the Rochat Creek water is chlorinated, that won’t kill parasites that are especially risky for the very old and very young residents, according to the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality.

The city now must look for another way to meet federal drinking-water standards. The most obvious is to dig wells and tap into ground water.

Cost estimates haven’t been made for that approach, city officials said before the election.

Earlier this year, nearly 1,000 people surveyed said they wanted to continue getting Rochat Creek water. , DataTimes