Sandpoint May Ask Court To Bypass Voters To Upgrade Two Water Plants
The city wants permission from a judge to bypass voters and borrow $2.2 million to upgrade its two water treatment plants.
Mayor Ron Chaney said the plants do not meet new federal regulations and if the work is not done the city will face stiff fines.
“We have no alternative,” Chaney said. “To try and pass a bond issue would be even more costly and since we are mandated to do this anyway a vote would be meaningless. We have to do this whether residents want it or not.”
The City Council will decide today whether to seek the judicial validation and bypass a public vote.
If the measure passes the council, as Chaney expects, the city will make its case before a judge in the next two months. Chaney said the city would borrow the money at a low interest rate through the Farm Home Administration.
The loan would be paid back over 30 years by raising water rates $3.14 a month. The city’s flat fee for water is now about $18.
“So far we have not had one voice of opposition,” Chaney said, adding he was unhappy about having to comply with the federal regulations.
The city was notified almost two years ago that its water treatment plants on Sand Creek and Lake Pend Oreille did not meet new water treatment requirements.
Although the city has never had a problem with contaminated water, the new rules require a filter system that can extract extremely tiny bacteria particles.
That will mean installing expensive new equipment, adding a 10,000 gallon concrete tank at the Sand Creek plant and increased chlorination of the water.
“About 80 percent of our water comes from (Sand Creek), this incredibly pristine watershed,” Chaney said. “The water is tremendously clear and pure and it’s unfortunate we must adhere to these new standards which in our minds overloads our system with chlorine.”
The city has been adding extra chlorine since it was notified of the violations. Chaney said that’s caused some residents to call and complain about the taste and smell of the water. The city planned to move ahead with the judicial validation process last month. But estimates for upgrades at the plants kept going up. The job was originally expected to cost $1.6 million. Engineering consultants later said the upgrades would cost $2.7 million. Chaney said that figure was finally cut back to the $2.2 million. “This isn’t something the city wants to do, but we have no choice,” he said.