Local Briefs March 29, 2012

Vehicle rolls into Lake Cd'A

COEUR d'ALENE - A woman escaped serious injury when she lost control of the vehicle she was driving and crashed in to Lake Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday morning.

Coeur d'Alene firefighters responded to the one-vehicle rollover on Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive near the Beachouse restaurant about 8 a.m. and found an SUV on its wheels, partially submerged.

The driver had been helped through the passenger side window by police officers, according to a press release.

Rescuers used ropes to lower a basket and personnel to the patient. The conscious female was hauled up a slope, and transported to Kootenai Medical Center for evaluation.

It appears that a contributing factor to the accident was ice on the roadway, the release said.

Wastewater in St. Maries river

An estimated 13,000 gallons of wastewater overflowed into the St. Maries River on Monday when Fernwood's pumping station No. 1 overflowed due to heavy rains and snow.

The Fernwood Water and Sewer District released the amount of the overflow of "mostly stormwater" on Tuesday.

It was the third time the pumping station has overflowed this year due to rain and snow melt.

The district is considering a plan to correct the pumping problems, but it could cost around $500,000. Until then, more rain and melting snow could combine for additional overflows.

"The National Weather Service broadcast for the near future is not encouraging, but we are doing the best that we can in the short term," a press release said.