Residents Facing Big Water Bill They Must Treat Water Or Locate New Source

Families buying bottled water because of contaminated wells south of Post Falls have no easy solution to their drinking water dilemma.

Some residents don’t mind having to buy bottled water until the nitrates in their wells dwindle to drinkable levels.

“It just means I have to go buy water for my infant for formula,” said Douglas Harsh. “It’s no big deal.”

But eventually, homeowners may be stuck with a big bill to treat their water or find a new source.

The neighborhood south of Q’Emlin Park was notified of the contaminated water systems earlier this week.

The South River Water Association, Parkview Water Association and three private wells were found to have high levels of nitrates.

Four other private wells and the city’s well in Q’Emlin Park may also be affected. The city’s well is not operational now, however.

Nitrates are harmful to children under 6 months old and possibly to pregnant women. Levels above 10 parts per million can cause methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby syndrome,” a serious disease that harms the blood’s ability to carry oxygen.

Parkview’s system had levels of 17.6 ppm, and South River had levels of 15.1 ppm. The two systems serve about 100 families.

Environmental officials are uncertain of the cause, although they believe it could be a combination of a nearby greenhouse and leaky septic systems.

The neighborhood is not part of the city of Post Falls, so it is not on the city’s sewer system.

When a similar problem occurred last spring, an investigation discovered a temporary discharge of high nitrate irrigation water into a dry well at Hughes Greenhouse. The discharge was stopped and officials believed the problem was solved.

Further study found that when the Spokane River level came up, the nitrate level went down as the river recharges the aquifer.

During spring runoff, the Post Falls dam gates are wide open, lowering the river level near the dam.

“My suspicion is that this is something that’s been going on quite some time during the runoff season,” said George Conrad, president of the South River Water Association.

Steve Tanner, drinking water supervisor with the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality, said that because the problem appears chronic, the associations are required to fix the problem.

Unfortunately, none of the solutions is cheap.

Unlike choliform, nitrates can’t be treated easily with chlorine, and boiling only makes the problem worse.

Expensive treatment systems, drilling new wells or annexing to the city to get city water are all options.

“There’s always the option of getting river water, but you’re talking about expensive treatment for that, too,” Tanner said.

Tanner will meet with the associations soon to discuss their options.

, DataTimes