Idaho DEQ awards more than $59 million to municipalities for water improvements

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality announced grant awards of more than $59 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to improve 11 drinking water and wastewater systems across the state, according to a press release.

The $59.1 million in construction grants are part of $300 million distributed through the State Revolving Loan Fund in 2022 and Gov. Brad Little’s Leading Idaho initiative.

“Water is our most valuable resource, and we absolutely must keep up the infrastructure to ensure water is clean and plentiful for this generation and future ones,” Little said in the release. “These investments also could keep your property taxes low. Property taxes are determined locally, but the investments we made in water and other infrastructure needs at the state level help relieve the burden on local government to cover costs of projects, improving the chances property owners won’t be burdened with the costs.”

The awarded projects include:

Bennington Water System, Inc.: $2.4 million to supplement material and labor cost overruns associated with an existing project, which consists of redeveloping Spring No. 2 and constructing a 150,000-gallon storage tank, disinfection facility, blending line, and transmission line.

City of Lewiston: $7.3 million to supplement material and labor cost overruns associated with an existing project, which consists of upgrading the water treatment system, replacing undersized mains, upgrading the booster pumping facility, and constructing a new well supply and water storage reservoir.

City of Craigmont: $5.1 million for new headworks, biosolids, and ammonia removal, lagoon rehabilitation, and a new disinfection system, infiltration/inflow corrections, and collection work.

Remington Recreational Water and Sewer District: $1 million to supplement material and labor cost overruns associated with an existing project, which consists of improving the source, storage and booster capacity and adding new transmission and distribution lines.

City of Moyie Springs: $2.1 million to supplement material and labor cost overruns associated with an existing project, which consists of upgrading the treatment system and building a discharge line to the Kootenai River.

City of Rigby: $23 million to retain the Nuvoda Mobile Organic Biofilm system and add the following major components: septage receiving box, a redundant screen, new oxidation ditches, secondary clarifiers, tertiary filters, pumping upgrades, a new ultraviolet system, new plant water pumps, new screen press, an additional emergency generator, electrical upgrades, and supervisory control and data acquisition improvements.

City of New Meadows: $1.87 million to construct a facility for Well No. 5, replace the reservoir and booster station, update the city’s supervisory control and data acquisition system, and address cost overruns pertaining to their existing project.

City of Juliaetta: $1.7 million to supplement material and labor cost overruns on an existing project, which consists of rehabilitating replacing their lift station and adding new headworks, new aeration, secondary clarifiers, new dewatering equipment, new temperature and flow monitoring controls, backup generator, composite samplers, and temperature treatment.

City of Challis: $3 million for the continued construction of a new well, well house, booster station, transmission line and to perform leak detection on water lines.

City of Genesee: $3.76 million to supplement material and labor cost overruns on an existing project, which consists of replacing the collection system, improving the wastewater treatment system, and adding a new headworks facility, lagoon system, and ultraviolet disinfection.

City of Genesee: $1.72 million for the design and construction of Well No. 9, including a well house, yard piping, design and distribution components, and design improvements to the Fir Street boosted pressure zone.

City of Kooskia: $6.12 million to add mechanical screening headworks, improve the lagoon diffused aeration, reconstruct the existing treatment lagoons, replace aging sewer mains, perform sewer system rehabilitation including replacement of lift station pumps, and install instruments and controls at the city’s lift stations.