Sandpoint approves water ordinance

SANDPOINT – The Sandpoint City Council has approved an ordinance intended to protect the city’s drinking water from becoming contaminated by backflow from homes.

Council members voted 4-2 last week to approve the ordinance after an Idaho Department of Environmental Quality official told them the agency would likely not approve the city’s system without it.

Steve Tanner, an engineering manager with the agency, said a lot of people in the city rely on having an approved drinking water system for home financing and business financing.

Some residents were against the ordinance because of added costs, about $50 a year for testing at homes.