Sewer Controversy Knows No Borders Developer’S Request To Rathdrum Draws Opposition From Post Falls

Post Falls officials hope a developer flushes his idea of hooking into Rathdrum’s sewer for what would be the biggest new subdivision on the prairie.

Developer Bing Sherwood will go before the Rathdrum City Council at 6 p.m. Tuesday to plead his case for extending sewer service to his planned 419-lot Lost Creek subdivision.

Lost Creek, formerly called River of No Return, is on 260 acres outside Rathdrum city limits and would add a population larger than Athol and Hauser combined.

“I don’t think I’ll get approval for this,” Sherwood said of his request to hook into Rathdrum’s sewer.

“My problem is we’re going to build a sewer plant, and the money I invest in that could have been easily invested in a regional system that will be more efficient for Kootenai County.”

Rathdrum sewers collect wastewater, sending it down a 10-inch pipe to Post Falls’ treatment plant. The treated water is then discharged into the Spokane River.

Lost Creek - which is just across from the planned Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway refueling depot - falls within the area where the city of Rathdrum is expected to grow.

However, since the project is not adjacent to city limits, it cannot currently be annexed into Rathdrum.

Post Falls Mayor Gus Johnson, who was elected last week to replace Dick Compton on the Kootenai County Commission, sent a letter Oct. 24 to Rathdrum explaining his position.

“The City of Post Falls does not allow connections to our wastewater system outside our city limits,” the letter said. “Should Rathdrum choose to stray from this policy, Post Falls would find that the spirit of our intergovernmental agreement on wastewater has been violated.

“Post Falls would seek all possible remedies to assure the adherence to the policy of no service outside corporate limits and to the intergovernmental agreement.”

Rathdrum Mayor Tawnda Bromley, who has advocated more growth for her city, said she hasn’t decided whether to support Sherwood’s request to hook into the sewer.

“I haven’t heard all the information yet,” Bromley said.

Bob Lloyd, Rathdrum’s public works director, sides with Post Falls, and he sent his own letter to Sherwood last Tuesday.

Lloyd outlined a list of reasons why the city staff “should not grant your request to hook into the city’s sewer…”

“A precedence would be set opening our system to other developments which our system could not handle,” Lloyd said in the letter.

Sherwood understands those concerns and realizes that Rathdrum doesn’t want to jeopardize its wastewater agreement with Post Falls.

On Tuesday, he’ll offer to use the money that he would use to build a sewer system that employs land application to instead purchase equipment - such as high pressure pumps - to upgrade Rathdrum’s sewer.

“It seems like we had an opportunity to build something more durable, which is a regional sewer plan,” Sherwood said. “It could be a plan that would address all the issues for the whole area.”

The development sits atop the Rathdrum Prairie-Spokane Valley aquifer, which provides drinking water to more than 400,000 people.

That makes septic tanks a bad idea, said Rand Wichman, senior planner for Kootenai County.

“The cost of building their own system is substantially more than hooking up to city sewer,” Wichman said.

The sewer hookup would eliminate the need to build lagoons, pay for more engineering, buy equipment for spraying wastewater on the prairie, and pay crews to run it.

Sherwood said building his own wastewater system was part of the original plan. But he fully expects city leaders to eventually extend sewer to this area, located near Idaho Road North.

“This is an appropriate area for growth. Maybe I was just a little too soon,” he said. “You either have to decide not to grow at all or manage your growth. I’m on the side of managed growth.”

The development also has raised concerns with both emergency response and the Post Falls Highway District over traffic.

Sherwood has responded by adding a third entrance to the development and thinks those issues can be solved.

“I’m committed to getting (the development) through as long as people tell me that if I solve issues I can get it done,” he said.

Sherwood, 51, said he is building a home in Kootenai County and hopes to move here soon.

He’s developed for about 10 years and found the Lost Creek site by surfing the Internet.

“We wanted green and we wanted cool in the summer and near significant water,” Sherwood said.

He looked at locations in California, but they didn’t seem to click.

“What mostly appealed to us here were the folks. The people in this area are different because of the small town and we like that,” he said. “It’s just a great location for us.”

Wichman said he expects the project to go to public hearing sometime in January.

Until then, Sherwood will continue to seek approval.

“I’ve spent a lot of money trying to solve these issues,” Sherwood said. “If (county officials) tell me that I won’t do this, I’ll lick my wounds and move on.”