Effluent overflows from Hayden plant
About 1 million gallons of partially treated effluent overflowed from a Hayden sewer plant Aug. 14 and seeped into the ground.
The Hayden Area Regional Sewer Board sent out a press release Tuesday evening, 10 days after the spill at the plant near the Coeur d’Alene Airport, saying it does not anticipate any public health problems because the effluent was treated. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is currently evaluating the impact. The sewer board also is analyzing if any downhill wells were affected and whether they need testing.
The release said that pump failure and a malfunctioning alarm system were the cause of the overflow from the plant’s chlorine contact chamber. A redundant alarm and pump system have been installed to prevent a recurrence, the release said.
The effluent is normally used to irrigate about 320 acres northwest of the Atlas Road treatment plant or discharged into the Spokane River.
This is the second spill in as many weeks in Kootenai County. About 130,000 gallons of raw sewage dumped into the Spokane River over the weekend after a big wad of cloth rags clogged pipes at Coeur d’Alene’s wastewater treatment plant. Two alarms should have sounded but neither did.
DEQ said the spill posed little risk to human health. Test samples of the sewage and river showed no dangerous levels of contamination.
For more information, call the HARSB office at 772-0672.