District's water finally restored

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

COEUR d'ALENE — About 300 homes east of Coeur d'Alene are on the path toward normalcy after being without treated running water for the past week.

Dave Dasher, vice president of Kootenai County Water District No. 1 in the Sunnyside Road corridor, said most or all of the patrons were expected to have

pressurized water by Friday night.

"There was no way to anticipate this problem, so we've been in reaction mode," Dasher said. "But now we're finally recovering."

He said the final problem — a break in the raw water line from Lake Coeur d'Alene at the district's facility on Sunnyside, was repaired around 6 p.m. Thursday and the water was turned back on at 8 p.m.

Dasher said by mid-day Friday, most homes had at least some running water. The system was expected to be completely restored and pressurized on Friday night.

Dasher said the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality still recommends residents boil their water for consumption as a precaution. He said the district plans to take five water samples at different locations to a lab on Monday to ensure the water is safe to drink.

"We should know by Tuesday if DEQ wants to lift its boil request," Dasher said.

It is believed the water-logged ground from the recent heavy rain and snowmelt at the district facility caused erosion and leaks about 10 feet apart in two different lines, Dasher said.

An alarm sounded last Saturday morning when the water levels in the filter bays reached low levels.

The leak in the treated water line was repaired on Tuesday night and the leak in the raw water line on Thursday. However, a break in the raw water line was also discovered on Thursday, further delaying the system from being turned on.

Dasher said staff and crews worked 14-hour days this week to restore order after the concrete floor was cut and a 12-foot hole was hand-dug to access the leaks.

"(Water manager Mike Waterhouse and others) decided that they finally had enough of a break to go to breakfast," Dasher said Friday, referring to the long days to restore the system.

Nearly 40,000 gallons of water per day was trucked to the facility from a neighboring water district, allowing patrons to fill up water jugs and some homes to have running water.

Dasher said it will be a while until the district knows what the final bill will be for the incident. It could reach six figures, he said.