Rules for lake pumps change

Submersible well pumps will not be allowed in open bodies of water

COEUR d’ALENE — It’s been a common practice for lakefront property owners to irrigate their lawns or pump drinking water from the lake, but how that's done will soon change.

The Idaho Division of Building Safety will no longer permit submersible well pumps in open bodies of water due to the risk of electrical shock.

“I know folks up there have been doing it for years,” said Bill Hatch, a spokesman for the Idaho Division of Building Safety. “But many of those pumps are for vertical deep water wells. They are not designed for open bodies of water.”

Hatch said the pumps pose a shock hazard during the summer months when people are enjoying the

outdoors around them.

The agency’s new electrical program manager, Warren Wing, published a white paper on the issue earlier this month, and now the agency is preparing to phase those pumps out and replace them with pumps that are designed for irrigation systems.

“He noticed people were using submersible pumps when he went up north to meet his guys in the Coeur d’Alene office,” Hatch said. “I don’t know if he went out on a tour or what. I don't know the circumstances; he became aware of them.”

Hatch said the agency isn’t going to start issuing tickets or anything. It just wants to phase them out over time.

“What we are saying is if your pump goes belly up, it can only be replaced with a pump appropriate for that use,” Hatch said. “The code is the code and the state has adopted this.”

But Hatch said the agency is also working with the Legislature to draft a bill that will address the submersible pumps.

Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, said he is working on a bill that would give homeowners ample time to transition from the submersible pumps to a proper irrigation pump in the future.

“It’s a huge issue for all of my waterfront constituents,” Nonini said, adding he has a well on his waterfront property, but his neighbors are using a submersible pumping system for their irrigation.

Nonini said he is working with folks in the pumping industry and the State Association of Realtors.

Nonini said the pumps could be dangerous for swimmers in particular.

The Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association website states electric shock drowning is fairly common, but also preventable. The association said anytime AC power is used near water there should be cause for concern.

The association recommends swimming at least 50 feet away from any electrical source.